Box Score The No. 3 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team defeated the Western Mustangs 3-2 (25-7, 15-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-7) in OUA semi-final action on Friday night (Feb. 20) in Guelph, Ont.

The Blues advance to their first OUA final since 2010 and will face the Ottawa Gee-Gees for the OUA banner on Saturday night (Feb. 21) at 8:30 p.m. in Guelph. The game will be streamed live on OUA.tv.

"We started very strong and finished strong," said Kristine Drakich, who was named OUA East coach of the year for the eighth time in her career this past week. "Western played very well after the first set and the match had a lot of ups and downs. We weathered a few storms, stayed the course and a solid finish closed it out."

Fifth-year left side hitter Charlotte Sider notched her 1,000th career kill (regular season and playoffs) in recording a team-high 17.5 points on the night. The Ottawa native tallied 14 kills, four blocks and one ace.

Third-year standout Caleigh Cruickshank led the Blues with 15 kills and had seven digs and two blocks, while Jennifer Neilson added 10 kills, nine digs and seven blocks. Fellow veteran Bojana Radan was unstoppable at the net, notching 13 blocks and seven kills.

Third-year setter Madelyn Mandryk added 45 assists and eight digs, while libero Asli Ersozoglu recorded 16 digs in the win.

The Mustangs were led by Aja Gyimah's 16-kill performance.

The Blues will be out for revenge over the Gee-Gees tomorrow night, after the No. 6 Ottawa team spoiled Toronto's perfect regular season record with a 3-2 decision two weeks ago. 

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