The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team host the Lakehead Thunderwolves in their 2017-18 home and season opener this Friday, October 27 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

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The Blues finished last season 19-0 in first place in the OUA East division and went onto earn the bronze medal on home court; however, Kristine Drakich, who enters her 29th season as Blues head coach, is always looking ahead.
 
"Every season is a new beginning and it's what makes it really exciting," said Drakich. "The players that are returning from last year are better at all aspects of the game and the new players that have come in have been incredible in terms of filling roles. The competition in our pre-season has allowed us to grow as a team and solidify our systems so that we can play with a purpose and we're relentless on defence, which makes me really excited and each week we've been getting better and better."

Check out our 2017-18 women's @Blues_vball season preview video! Home opener this Friday at Goldring Centre at 7pm! @OUAsport @USPORTSca pic.twitter.com/KhMEc8fkXl

— U of T Varsity Blues (@Varsity_Blues) October 23, 2017

 
Leading Toronto this year are veteran outside hitters Anna Feore and Alina Dormann. Both players were members of the Canadian national indoor team this summer and represented Canada at the 2017 FISU Summer Universiade in Taipei.
 
Dormann, a 6-foot-2 right side hitter from Ottawa, is the two-time reigning OUA East player of the year and a two-time U SPORTS all-Canadian. Feore boasted her first career OUA all-star nod last season after ranking second on the squad in both kills and points.
 
The duo will also look to fourth-year outside hitter Veronica Derylo and sophomore left side hitters Emma Armstrong and Brianna Patrick to power the Blues offence this season.
 
Toronto's middle will be led by veteran Anna Licht. Licht earn all-star honours last season after ranking third on the team in points and second with 30 blocks. The Toronto native will turn to sophomore Natasha Lewis and rookie Jenna Woock to help bolster U of T's middle this season.
 
Sophomore libero Sophia Currier is making a difference in the backrow and will see a lot of court time in 2017-18, while the Blues also welcome rookie setters Hayley Goodwin and Rayn Perry to replace three-time OUA all-star Madelyn Mandryk.

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