With the OUA bronze medal on the line, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team fell in a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to the Western Mustangs on Saturday, February 21 at the Tait McKenzie Centre.

The Blues battled hard throughout the five close sets but fell just short to a strong Western team (21-25, 28-26, 25-18, 23-25, 8-15) to finish fourth at the OUA Final Four championships.

OUA first team all-star Heather Bansley (Waterdown, Ont.) dominated once again with a game-high 21 kills and 34 digs. In her last game as a Varsity Blue, Caley Venn (Bowmanville, Ont.) recorded 11 kills and six digs, while Richmond Hill, Ont. native Diane Burrows tallied nine kills and 25 digs.

OUA East merit award winner Michelle Wood (Toronto) led all players with 39 digs and Kristina Valjas (Toronto) also posted an impressive performance with nine kills and nine digs in the loss.

Western was led by Elaine Screaton’s (Calgary, Alta.) 14 kills and eight digs. Andrea Ruste (Edmonton, Alta.) had a team-high 28 digs, while Sarah Farrell (London, Ont.) recorded 13 kills in the bronze-medal victory.

In the gold-medal game, the host York Lions defeated the defending champion McMaster Marauders in straight sets to claim the OUA title.