Match 8: VIU Mariners 3, Cavaliers de Bois-de-Boulogne 1
The VIU Mariners and the Bois-de-Boulogne Cavaliers faced off in the second semi-final match of the night on Friday as both teams looked to earn their place in the gold medal match. It was the VIU Mariners who ended the match with the victory (25-16, 25-14, 23-25, 25-12) as they secured their chance to win their second straight CCAA Gold Medal.
VIU started off the game on fire as they jumped out to a dominating 2-0 lead, putting the Cavaliers in an early hole. The RSEQ champs would not back down, however, making a late comeback in set number three to extend the match to a fourth game. With the momentum shifted to the Cavaliers side, VIU would get the start they needed in the next set to kill the momentum after going up early and forcing Bois-de-Boulogne to take a time-out. The fourth set ended 25-12 and the Mariners guaranteed themselves a medal and a shot at gold.
Middle Blocker Taylor Wickson was dominant on the net for VIU, shutting down the Cavaliers offence repeatedly as she registered five blocks to go along with her eight kills. The third-year player earned the 4Imprint Player of the Match for her team. All-Canadian Karoline Tormena had a team-high 19 kills in the win and setter Chantal Cumming had 39 assists.
The Cavaliers were led by outside hitter Béatrice Lamarche who matched VIU’s Karoline Tormena with 19 kills of her own. She was also brilliant defensively, registering 14 digs and earning herself the 4Imprint Player of the Match honour. All-Canadian Victoria Iannotti had eight kills and 13 digs and Setter Océane Couturier had 30 assists in the loss.
Match 7: The King’s Eagles 3, Douglas Royals 1
You could almost hear the debates being argued back and forth in the Niagara College gymnasium on Saturday night as fans debated on who was going to earn a spot in the gold medal match between two of the country’s top programs; The King’s Eagles and the Douglas Royals. It was The King’s Eagles who advanced to the gold medal match (25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 25-18) as they will look to earn their second straight gold medal and their third in the past four seasons.
The Eagles came out on and gained the early momentum winning the first set of the match. Douglas would fire right back and even things up however, as the two teams headed into the third set tied 1-1. Jayden Bontkes took over the game after that though for the Eagles as she finished with a game-high 27 kills and led her team to a 3-1 win. She earned the 4Imprint Player of the Match for her team. Through two matches, Bontkes has an astonishing 49 kills.
Also having a solid game for the TKU was Anna Janzen who has 10 kills, bringing her tournament total up to 38. Setter Jada Lea had 45 assists in the win.
The 4imprint Player of the Match on the Douglas Royals side of the court was All-Canadian Vania Oliveira. She finished the match with 20 kills and eight digs. Starting Libero Trish He had 16 digs while starting Setter Jane Kepler had 36 assists.
Match 6: Briercrest Clippers 3, Niagara Knights 0
After dropping their opening match of the tournament, the host Niagara Knights took on the Briercrest Clippers to try and keep their medal chances alive. The ACAC silver medalists were too much for Niagara to handle, however, as the Clippers won in three straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-15).
Briercrest was strong from the start and didn’t take their foot off the gas as they paved their way to the victory. A huge factor in the game was the Clippers .351 hitting percentage comparted to the Knights .163 percentage.
The Clippers got an outstanding performance from outside hitter Becky Garner. The 5’10” attacker had 16 kills in the match and also added nine digs which resulted in her being named the 4Imprint Player of the Match. All-Canadian setter Ashley Erickson set her teammates up effectively throughout the match, registering 29 assists.
For the Knights, Olivia Burnie led the team with seven kills to earn herself the 4Imprint Player of the Match honours. Jordan Koslowski and Natasha Desjardins had five and six kills, respectively, while Niagara’s setter, Montanna Taylor, had 18 assists and five digs.
Match 5: Fanshawe Falcons 3, MSVU Mystics 0
The second day of the 2019 CCAA Women’s Volleyball National Championship started off with the Fanshawe Falcons and the MVSU Mystics battling each other to keep their bronze medal hopes alive. It was the Falcons who came away victorious and earned a spot in Saturday morning’s bronze semi-final match.
The Falcons went up big in the first set before MSVU came back to take a late lead. The OCAA champions survived the opening-set comeback attempt, however, earning a 25-23 win. They would ride that momentum to a clean sweep of their opponents.
Leading the way for Fanshawe in the victory was CCAA Player of the Year Janelle Albert. The outside hitter had a team-high 13 kills on a .444 hitting percentage. Katie Stewart was the 4Imprint Player of the Match as the second-year setter had 37 assists. Meghan Morelli also contributed double-digit kills in the win, finishing the match with 11.
The Mystics’ 4Imprint Player of the Match was CCAA All-Canadian and ACAA Player of the Year Madison Urquhart who had seven kills, four service aces and four digs. Janine Marshall had a team-high nine kills in the loss.
