February 12, 2009
OUA PLAYOFF PUSH: WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
HAMILTON, Ont. - Eight teams will compete in the next 48 hours to determine who will advance to the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four Women's Volleyball Championship.
The OUA playoffs begin on Friday night when the Western Mustangs (15-4) host the Brock Badgers (14-5) in a West Division battle. This is Brock's first visit to the OUA post-season since the 2002-03 campaign. The Mustangs are mainstays in the OUA playoffs, but failed to advance past the quarter-final round last season.
The Badgers enter Friday's game red-hot, winning 10 of their last 11 regular season games. Their only blemish was a 3-2 loss to Western. Two of Brock's five losses came against the Mustangs by identical five-set scores. Western won the first meeting at Brock on Nov. 1 (17-25, 21-25, 26-24, 32-30, 15-11) and again on home court on Jan. 24 (23-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-12). The Mustangs had to rally from two-set deficits in both games to pull out each victory.
Western outside hitter Elaine Screaton (Calgary, Alta.) and Brock left side Alexandra McKee (Whitby, Ont.) each had 29 combined kills in the two regular season meetings against each other. The Mustangs have a perfect 9-0 record at the friendly confines of Alumni Hall, while the Badgers had a 6-3 record on the road during the 2008-09 campaign.
The Mustangs have cooled off as of late, dropping their last two games of the regular season on the road to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (8-11) and Waterloo Warriors (12-7). While Laurier finished outside the playoff picture, the Warriors are right in the OUA championship hunt, and have a date with the McMaster Marauders (15-4) on Saturday. The Marauders finished the regular season in a first-place tie with Western in the West Division, but earned the top seed following OUA tiebreakers.
Similar to the other West quarter-final match-up, the Warriors defeated the Marauders twice during the regular season by identical 3-2 scores. Waterloo was victorious on its home court on Oct. 31 (32-30, 17-25, 28-26, 22-25, 15-9) in a back-and-forth affair. It was a similar outcome at McMaster on Jan. 23 (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 17-15) for the Warriors. Waterloo has won five of its last six games to end the regular season, and is 6-3 on the road.
Waterloo middle Kate Flanagan (Burlington, Ont.) was second in OUA in kills with 219, an average of three per set. McMaster right side Kaila Janssen (Oshawa, Ont.) had 23 combined kills in her two meetings against the Warriors.
In the East, the York Lions (18-1) are one win away from clinching home court at the OUA Final Four. Their only blemish came in the regular season finale, a 3-1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19) loss at McMaster. The Lions outlasted Saturday's quarter-final opponent, the Queen's Gaels (10-9), during their regular season meetings, winning 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-23) in Kingston, Ont. on Nov. 14 and 3-1 (26-28, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18) on home court on Jan. 23. The Gaels have lost three of five to end the regular season.
York rookie right side Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) was third in OUA kills with 203. Queen's outside hitter Natalie Gray (Oshawa, Ont.) had a combined 17 kills and 21 digs in her two meetings against York.
In the other East quarter-final, the Toronto Varsity Blues (12-7) host the Ottawa Gee-Gees (12-7) on Saturday. The Varsity Blues may have won the right to host this game by virtue of an OUA tiebreaker, but these teams are evenly matched. The Gee-Gees defeated Toronto 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-21) on their home court on Jan. 11, and the Varsity Blues returned the favour in Toronto with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-22) victory of their own on Jan. 30. The Varsity Blues ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak, while Ottawa has lost three straight.
This game features the two top servers in OUA. Gee-Gees right side Tess Edwards (Ottawa, Ont.) led OUA with 62 aces, while Varsity Blues left side Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.) was second with 56.
The top remaining seed following the quarter-finals will host the OUA Final Four Women's Volleyball Championship beginning on Feb. 20.
OUA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUARTER-FINALS
Fri., Feb. 13
7:30 p.m. – Brock @ Western
Sat., Feb. 14
1 p.m. – Waterloo @ McMaster
2 p.m. – Queen's @ York
2 p.m. – Ottawa @ Toronto
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Photo Credit: Brent Lewin
The OUA playoffs begin on Friday night when the Western Mustangs (15-4) host the Brock Badgers (14-5) in a West Division battle. This is Brock's first visit to the OUA post-season since the 2002-03 campaign. The Mustangs are mainstays in the OUA playoffs, but failed to advance past the quarter-final round last season.
The Badgers enter Friday's game red-hot, winning 10 of their last 11 regular season games. Their only blemish was a 3-2 loss to Western. Two of Brock's five losses came against the Mustangs by identical five-set scores. Western won the first meeting at Brock on Nov. 1 (17-25, 21-25, 26-24, 32-30, 15-11) and again on home court on Jan. 24 (23-25, 18-25, 26-24, 25-16, 15-12). The Mustangs had to rally from two-set deficits in both games to pull out each victory.
Western outside hitter Elaine Screaton (Calgary, Alta.) and Brock left side Alexandra McKee (Whitby, Ont.) each had 29 combined kills in the two regular season meetings against each other. The Mustangs have a perfect 9-0 record at the friendly confines of Alumni Hall, while the Badgers had a 6-3 record on the road during the 2008-09 campaign.
The Mustangs have cooled off as of late, dropping their last two games of the regular season on the road to the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (8-11) and Waterloo Warriors (12-7). While Laurier finished outside the playoff picture, the Warriors are right in the OUA championship hunt, and have a date with the McMaster Marauders (15-4) on Saturday. The Marauders finished the regular season in a first-place tie with Western in the West Division, but earned the top seed following OUA tiebreakers.
Similar to the other West quarter-final match-up, the Warriors defeated the Marauders twice during the regular season by identical 3-2 scores. Waterloo was victorious on its home court on Oct. 31 (32-30, 17-25, 28-26, 22-25, 15-9) in a back-and-forth affair. It was a similar outcome at McMaster on Jan. 23 (25-21, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 17-15) for the Warriors. Waterloo has won five of its last six games to end the regular season, and is 6-3 on the road.
Waterloo middle Kate Flanagan (Burlington, Ont.) was second in OUA in kills with 219, an average of three per set. McMaster right side Kaila Janssen (Oshawa, Ont.) had 23 combined kills in her two meetings against the Warriors.
In the East, the York Lions (18-1) are one win away from clinching home court at the OUA Final Four. Their only blemish came in the regular season finale, a 3-1 (25-13, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19) loss at McMaster. The Lions outlasted Saturday's quarter-final opponent, the Queen's Gaels (10-9), during their regular season meetings, winning 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-23) in Kingston, Ont. on Nov. 14 and 3-1 (26-28, 25-21, 25-23, 25-18) on home court on Jan. 23. The Gaels have lost three of five to end the regular season.
York rookie right side Thinesa Sriskandarajah (Scarborough, Ont.) was third in OUA kills with 203. Queen's outside hitter Natalie Gray (Oshawa, Ont.) had a combined 17 kills and 21 digs in her two meetings against York.
In the other East quarter-final, the Toronto Varsity Blues (12-7) host the Ottawa Gee-Gees (12-7) on Saturday. The Varsity Blues may have won the right to host this game by virtue of an OUA tiebreaker, but these teams are evenly matched. The Gee-Gees defeated Toronto 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-21) on their home court on Jan. 11, and the Varsity Blues returned the favour in Toronto with a 3-0 (27-25, 25-13, 25-22) victory of their own on Jan. 30. The Varsity Blues ended the regular season on a six-game winning streak, while Ottawa has lost three straight.
This game features the two top servers in OUA. Gee-Gees right side Tess Edwards (Ottawa, Ont.) led OUA with 62 aces, while Varsity Blues left side Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.) was second with 56.
The top remaining seed following the quarter-finals will host the OUA Final Four Women's Volleyball Championship beginning on Feb. 20.
OUA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL QUARTER-FINALS
Fri., Feb. 13
7:30 p.m. – Brock @ Western
Sat., Feb. 14
1 p.m. – Waterloo @ McMaster
2 p.m. – Queen's @ York
2 p.m. – Ottawa @ Toronto
– OUA –
ABOUT ONTARIO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and its 19 member institutions are developing Champions For Life. Giving 9,000 student-athletes the opportunity to excel academically and on the playing field, while preparing for life after university. For more information, visit OUA.ca.
Photo Credit: Brent Lewin
