On Saturday, Feb. 24, the No. 2 Brock Badgers and two-defending time Quigley Cup champions started their postseason with a three-set sweep (25-12, 25-19 25-13) of the visiting Western Mustangs.
“It was a great win for us tonight. Our serve and pass game was really good, ” said head coach Steve Delaney. “We hit our serving target almost all the time, and we passed the ball and stayed in control to run our offence.”
The Badgers featured a balanced attack as Gigi Markotic notched 11 kills and Madison Chimienti added nine of her own. Markotic led all players with 14.5 points, as she added two service aces and 1.5 blocks while Chimienti hit a remarkable .615 hitting percentage off nine kills in 13 attempts with only one error. Setter Sara Rohr dished out 31 assists and libero Aleiah Torres led the team in digs with nine.
“Madison was key for us. That’s why she was named Player of the Game,” said Delaney. “She put some of the best numbers of her career tonight.”
In the early part of the first set, both teams were going point for point until Rohr took over. The fifth-year setter went on a large service run, earning three consecutive aces. The Mustangs attempted to call a timeout to stop the momentum, but it was all Badgers from there. Brock hit at a sparkling .481 hitting percentage in the first set, notching 16 kills in the 25-12 first set win.
Western started strong in the second set, going on a 4-0 run off of back-to-back kills by Lael Harrison. Brock took a timeout down 8-3. The script flipped as the Badgers went on a 9-1 run to force a Western timeout at 12-9. Rohr was at it again from the service line as her fifth ace made the lead 16-10. The Mustangs tried to battle back, but the Badgers held on for the 25-19 victory in the second set.
Much like the second, the Mustangs took an early lead. This did not last long, as the Badgers took a multi-point advantage at 9-7 courtesy of a Markotic ace. The home side used strong play at the net to contain the Western attack, notching three blocks in the frame. Brianne Whalen served the final ball as the Badgers completed the three-set sweep with a 25-13 win.
With the win, the No. 1 OUA seed Brock Badgers (18-2) welcome in the No. 4 Toronto Metropolitan Bold (15-5) in an OUA semifinal contest on Friday, Mar. 1 at 7 p.m.. Tickets will be available at 10 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 26 at https://brocku.universitytickets.com/. You can also catch the game on https://oua.tv/
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