The #2 seed Providence University College (PUC) Pilots (13-5 regular season record; 2-0 playoff record) upset the #1 seed Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers in a straight sets victory (25-23, 25-22, 25-20) at the 2023 MCAC Men’s Volleyball Championship Final on Sunday, February 26.
A great contest between the top two teams in the MCAC this season. It was another rematch of the 2019, 2020 and 2022 championship finals which had PUC victorious in 2019 while CMU prevailed the past two seasons before this match-up. This meeting did not disappoint.
PUC’s Pilots jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the first set. While the Blazers were able to claw back to tie, they were unable to take the lead and trailed by the same four points at 18-14. CMU pulled within a single point four different times after that but were unable to even the score in the 25-23 opening set win by the Pilots.
The pattern continued into the second set with the Pilots establishing an 18-13 lead. The Blazers closed to within one point at 22-21 but could not even the score in the 25-22 second set Pilots’ victory.
By then the Providence team was flying. In the third set, they got out to an 18-12 lead and controlled play in a dominant 25-20 win.
An emotional and proud Pilots Head Coach Cody Quiring, who has announced this will be his final MCAC season, said his team took their game to another level in the championship match.
“It comes down to one match and the guys responded. We prepared the last few weeks – we knew it was going to come down to this and they took it to another level,” Coach Quiring said.
“We couldn’t do anything without the full 14 guys. I’m incredibly proud of how they responded,” he said.
The team accomplishment was led by Championship MVP Hector Ortiz.
“Our defense and tenacity were next level,” Coach Quiring said. “We’ve never had that before this weekend and Hector brought us to that next level. There is a reason he is one of the top liberos in Canada. He showed it today and I’m incredibly proud of him – but it is 14 guys, we are 14 strong.”
Hector Ortiz paid tribute to his teammates ahead of taking credit for himself.
“We played unreal – that was amazing,” he said. “I am so proud of the guys and to get this award, but first of all, we’re a team.
He said that Coach Quiring’s planned retirement was a real motivator. “We wanted to get this trip to nationals. It is Cody’s last season and we wanted to get it for him – it was our gift to him.”
The Providence Coach said he couldn’t ask for a better ending to his MCAC career but quickly pivoted back to his team and the CMU Blazers (16-2 regular season record; 1-1 playoff record).
“It is a great feeling but the biggest thing that makes me happy is seeing the joy on their faces. And I want to give credit to CMU. It was not an easy match whatsoever. Credit to our guys, they stuck to the game plan,” Coach Quiring said.
CMU Coach Don Dulder praised the victorious Pilots.
“They really played well – probably their best match of the season,” he said. “They controlled the middle and that caused a lot of problems. We had to commit there and that opened up the outside. They deserve it – all power to them.”
“I told my guys after – its like the Blue Bombers. They were going for a threepeat, we were going for a threepeat. We didn’t do it but I was very proud of my guys. Counting playoffs we were17-3, we had a great year. We just didn’t win this match, the match that counts. Sport can be fun and it can be pretty cruel,” he said.
Providence was on a four match winning streak going into the championship final which was the seventh season meeting between the two. CMU had won four times of the six previous meetings heading into the championship.
With the conference championship, PUC captures the conference title for the first time since 2019 and claims their sixth overall title in the program’s history (2001, 2002, 2003, 2016, 2019 and now 2023).
In addition, the Pilots now advances as the MCAC representative to the 2023 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Volleyball National Championship hosted by Humber College in Toronto, ON from March 8-11.
2023 MCAC Men’s Volleyball Championship
Hosted by: Université de Saint-Boniface (USB); Central Time listed
Saturday, February 25
12 p.m. Semi Final: #1 CMU Blazers 3 #4 USB Les Rouges 1
2 p.m. Semi Final: #2 PUC Pilots 3 #3 ACC Cougars 0
Sunday, February 26
1 p.m. Men’s Championship Final: #2PUC Pilots 3 #1 CMU Blazers 0
– written by Resby Coutts
