It will be a familiar setting for the Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team as they host the Quigley Cup at Bob Davis Gymnasium.
The action gets underway at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 8 with an awards ceremony to follow shortly after the contest.
Brock is the two-time defending Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions and is seeking their third title in program history, while their opponents, the McMaster Marauders, last won a title during the 2016-17 season and are going for their fourth provincial championship.
During the regular season, the Badgers finished atop the OUA standings with an 18-2 record, winning the tiebreaker over the second place Queen’s Gaels, while the Marauders finished third at 15-5.
The Badgers are deadly at the net as made evident by their league-leading 13.16 kills per set (K/S) and a .253 hitting percentage, which ranks second in the province. The Marauders play strong defence, finishing second in the OUA with 15.42 digs per set (D/S) and are complemented by tough serving with 2.43 service aces per set (SA/S); good for second provincially.
Leading the charge for the Badgers will be veteran setter and OUA Co-Player of the Year Sara Rohr. The First-Team All-Star led the league with 10.9 assists per set (A/S), placing second in the country. The program leader in assists has a full array of all-star hitters to distribute to.
Outside hitter Emily Foest and middle Gigi Markotic both landed spots on the First Team. Foest finished sixth in the OUA with 205 kills, while Markotic delivered a .329 hitting percentage to place second among all qualified hitters in the province. If those two are covered, Rohr has Sadie Dick to go to on the right side. Dick earned OUA recognition for the third consecutive season, taking home a Second Team All-Star selection after posting 3.4 points per set (eighth in the OUA) and 2.80 K/S (11th in the OUA).
Defensively, the Badgers are led by their senior libero Aleiah Torres. The Medical Sciences major delivered 3.38 digs per set and 240 digs during the season, placing her fifth in the OUA in both categories.
On the other side of the net, the Marauders have their own bevy of all-stars to rely on.
Veteran middle Jenna Woock brings experience from her time with the Toronto Varsity Blues where she was named the OUA East Player of the Year and First Team All-Star in 2021-22. She is joined by outside hitter Sullie Sundara on the First Team. Sundara delivered 4.5 PTS/S and 3.49 K/S, earning second and sixth in those respective categories.
In her first year as a Marauder, outside hitter Olivia Julien became an immediate starter, finishing with 2.54 K/S. For her efforts this season, she was named the OUA Rookie of the Year and a Second Team All-Star.
Lauryn Colpitts leads the team in assists during the regular season with 350 and will be called upon to run the offence on Friday night. On defence, McMaster looks to fourth-year libero Christina Stratford who has a team-high 161 digs.
It is set to be a great battle between Brock’s offence and McMaster’s defence on Friday night with the winner calling themselves OUA champions.
The 2024 Quigley Cup is officially sold out with no tickets available at the door. You can catch the game down at Brock’s Market Square in the Student Centre and on OUA.tv.