Heather Bansley’s 15 kills and 19 digs guided the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team to a three-set victory (27-25, 25-13, 25-22) over the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Friday, January 30th.

The Blues had all cylinders firing on Friday night, taking the second-place Gee-Gees in straight sets and handing them their fifth loss of the season.

Toronto jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the first set but Ottawa would rally to take a 16-13 lead at the second technical timeout. The Blues, in turn, came back o tie the game at 21 and a Dianne Burrows (Richmond Hill, Ont.) serving ace would secure a 27-25 win for Toronto.

The Blues continued to dominate throughout the second set. Led by Heather Bansley’s (Waterdown, Ont.) eight consecutive serving points, Toronto easily took the second game 25-13.

The Gee-Gees gathered themselves early in the third game and held an 8-4 lead at the first technical timeout. With the threat of a fourth game looming, Toronto was able to tie the game 17-17 and Bansley once again led the way with numerous kills down the stretch.

First-year middle hitter Jessica Khouri (Bowmanville, Ont.) sealed the deal with a beautiful slicing serve to take the third set 25-22 and secure the shutout victory.

Bansley had a game-high 15 kills, 19 digs and four serving aces, while Kristina Valjas (Toronto) tallied 12 kills and 12 digs. Kathleen Mahannah (Vancouver, B.C.) controlled the ball well, tallying 39 assists and fourth-year libero Michelle Wood added 11 digs in the victory.

Ottawa was led by Aminata Diallo’s (Travnik, BIH) eight kills and 12 digs, while third-year setter Tess Edwards (Ottawa, Ont.) had 10 digs and 19 assists. Gee-Gees player of the game Karine Gagnon (Granby, Que.) added seven kills in the loss.

The Varsity Blues return to action next weekend (Feb. 6-7) as they travel to take on the Queen’s Gaels and RMC Paladins in Kingston, Ont. Game time on Friday is 6 p.m., with Saturday’s match scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.