Match 9: Holland Hurricanes 3, Les Rouges de Saint-Boniface 1
The ACAA and MCAC champions finished off their tournament runs with an entertaining and energetic match in the 7/8th place game, won 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23) by the Holland Hurricanes.
In a first set marked by very few large point gaps, the teams went back and forth until the Hurricanes went on a short run with the score tied at 21. At 24-22, outside hitter Jenna O’Neill hit a long looping ball perfectly to the back corner of the court to secure Holland’s first set win of the tournament.
It looked like the Hurricanes might cruise through the second set and were up 8-3 early on. However, a big serving run from Samuelle Lemoine brought Les Rouges back to equal terms followed by another run from Valeria Gonzalez to increase the lead to 13-10. The Hurricanes tied things up shortly afterwards and the teams went neck-and-neck until fifth-years Lemoine and Bendu Dukuly combined on a big kill to give Les Rouges a 25-24 advantage. The Hurricanes hit wide in their next offensive possession to give Saint-Boniface the set victory.
The Hurricanes came back firing in the third set, opening an 16-8 advantage with setter Ella Hickey switching up the offensive feeds between outside hitters O’Neill, Charlotte Sweetapple, and Morgan White. Les Rouges managed to claw back to make it a two-point game at 18-16, but the Hurricanes stayed the course with Hickey winning a joust to finish off the set.
Down 24-20, Les Rouges nearly came back after a Hurricanes serve error was followed by a Lynne Wallack ace and one of Jacklyn Carson’s many kills on the day. However, a Mason Babey strike down the middle disrupted the Saint-Boniface defence and closed out the match for the Charlottetown squad.
The Holland Hurricanes officially finish in 7th place while Les Rouges, in their second year representing the MCAC conference at the national championship, finish in 8th.
Setter Ella Hickey was named the 4Imprint Player of the Game for the Hurricanes while Les Rouges right side Jacklyn Carson, a major offensive threat all game long, earned the nod for the Manitoba team.
Match 10: VIU Mariners 3, Augustana Vikings 0
The host Mariners, buoyed by a raucous home crowd, returned to resembling the team that topped the CCAA rankings throughout the season in a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-19) win over an athletic Vikings team with a solid cheering section of its own.
Early in the first set, Mariners libero Mika Yamada set the tone with a number of exceptional digs—including five touches before the first point was even counted. The Vikings’ Shae Boyes continued her exceptional tournament with two consecutive aces to help the Vikings take an early lead, but three aces on four serves from VIU’s Linnea Brickwood helped VIU retake a mid-set advantage. A devastating kill by Jane Lytvynenko off a desperation bump set by Yamada sealed the first set for the Mariners.
With UAA’s DJ Molle and VIU’s Megan Duffy locking down the middle, setters Brickwood and Sarah Dedrick kept pumping the ball outside for massive kills from VIU’s Lytvynenko and Cassidy Kitchen and UAA’s Boyes and Sarah Singular. Up 25-24, the Mariners got a combo block from Linnea Brickwood and Kayla Passmore to finish off set two.
The third set featured plenty of extended rallies and never-say-die plays. It remained close until, at 14-14, a serving run by Sophie Krupp gave VIU a 20-14 advantage and a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Mariners advance to a bronze medal matchup with the Humber Hawks on Saturday at 3 pm—the second time these teams will have faced each other in the tournament. The Vikings finish their first ever trip to a CCAA national championship with a 1-2 record and their win over Édouard-Montpetit standing as arguably the most entertaining game of the tournament.
UAA libero Rebecca Olenick and VIU outside hitter Jane Lytvynenko were named the 4Imprint Players of the Game.
Match 11: Humber Hawks 3, Lynx d’Édouard-Montpetit 1
After dropping the opening set, the Humber big guns got stronger and stronger as the match went on, leading to a 3-1 (18-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-17) win over the RSEQ champions.
Any nerves the Lynx might have had early on were dispelled midway through the first set, as they recovered from a 7-3 and 9-5 deficits to take the set over the Ontario champions. The set-winning point came off of a huge kill by first-year Sophie Descheneaux.
The second set was a close affair with the Lynx serving for set point at 24-22. However, the Hawks got big kills from Erika Dodd, Hannah Manners, and Ara Telan to get their team on the board.
The third set followed a similar storyline: a close set where the Lynx took a late lead only to see the Hawks come back. Another big kill from Telan iced the third set for the Toronto squad.
The Hawks fed off of the momentum in the fourth set, racing out to leads of 10-4 and 17-10. Dodd put back an over-bump with authority to finish off the game and send the bench onto the court in congratulations.
The 4Imprint Players of the Game were Hannah Manners—who made a terrific impact on the Hawks’ attack—and Béatrice Dubreuil, who was consistently excellent in this game and throughout the tournament.
The Hawks advance to a bronze medal matchup with the VIU Mariners on Saturday at 3 pm—the second time these teams will have faced each other in the tournament.
