Brock falls short in five-set battle with Acadia in U SPORTS quarter-final

The No. 3 seed Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team left it all out on the floor in their comeback attempt against the No. 6 seed Acadia Axewomen on Friday, March 15 at the Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton.

After going down two sets to none, the Badgers fought back to force a fifth set which was ultimately won by the Axewomen (23-25, 26-28, 25-15, 25-19, 12-15). 

Junior right side Sadie Dick led all scorers with 18 points off 17 kills and one block. All of Brock’s four other starting hitters finished in double-digits. Emily Foest had 14 and Gigi Markotic notched 12 while Laurin Ainsworth and Madison Chimienti were not far behind with 11 and 10, respectively.  

Fifth-year setter Sara Rohr distributed 56 assists, and senior libero Aleiah Torres notched 26 digs; both game highs.  

Acadia got out to an early start, going up 6-2 and forcing a Brock timeout. The Badgers eventually took a 16-12 advantage off a double block and a Madison Tuck service ace, reversing the momentum from the early part of the frame. After going down 20-18, Acadia scored three straight points, taking the first set 25-23.   

In the second, Acadia and Brock went point for point early, with the Halifax side eventually taking a 12-9 advantage, forcing a timeout. Kills by Rohr and Dick pushed the Badgers back on top to go up 15-13, and the Axewomen called a timeout of their own. Brock brought the lead to 24-23 but it was Acadia who took it in extra points, winning 26-24.  

The Badgers came out strong, going up 10-1 which led to two quick Acadia timeouts in the early parts of the third set. Brock held Acadia to an -.100 hitting percentage in the frame as Ainsworth shined with 2.5 blocks. The lead got as large as 11 at 24-13 before Brock finished it off with a 25-15 third set scoreline.  

Dick’s 17th kill of the contest brought the Badgers lead to 12-9 in the fourth set, leading Acadia to call a timeout. Chimienti’s first ace of the game came at an opportune time as it helped Brock increase their lead to 15-11. The advantage ballooned to 21-14 before Acadia tried to fight back. A three-point run brought the deficit down to five but that’s as close as the Axewomen would get. The Badgers forced a fifth set with a 25-19 victory.  

Brock took a 7-5 lead as Markotic earned her 11th kill, leading to the first two-point advantage of the fifth set. Acadia got to the court switch first at 8-7, with their lead getting up to 10-7 off back-to-back kills. The Badgers attempted to come back multiple times in the set, but the Axewomen scored the final two points of the fifth to win 15-12, booking a spot into the semifinals tomorrow.  

Up next, the tournament for the Badgers is not over as they will take on the host and No. 7 seed McMaster Marauders in the consolation semifinal round at 2:00 PM on Saturday, March 16. You can watch the game on the CBC Sports Youtube channel. Tickets are available here.