The top-seeded University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's and women's volleyball teams begin their 2020 post-season campaigns this Saturday, February 29 at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
 
The OUA quarter-final matchups will see Toronto's women battle the Waterloo Warriors at 1 p.m., with the men to follow versus the Brock Badgers at 3 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale here. Both matches will also be streamed live on OUA.tv
 
WOMEN'S PREVIEW: The Blues finished atop the OUA East division for the fourth time in the past six seasons with a 17-2 record. Toronto led the province with the most sets won (55) and fewest sets lost (18).
 
Should U of T be victorious on Saturday, they would host the OUA Quigley Cup Final Four, March 6-7, at Goldring Centre, where the top two teams will advance to the 2020 U SPORTS championships, March 13-15, at the University of Calgary.
 
But the road to Calgary starts with the Waterloo Warriors. The Warriors finished the 2019-20 season with an 11-8 record, in fourth place in the OUA West division. The two teams met last Friday in their lone meeting of 2019-20, with Toronto coming out on top, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-21).

"We are focusing on taking care of our side and executing our systems," said Varsity Blues head coach Kristine Drakich. "Waterloo is a strong team and we are looking forward to a challenging match on Saturday."

The Blues will be looking to their veteran corps to lead them on a playoff run. Fifth-year right side hitter Alina Dormann finished the season ranked second in the province with 4.3 points per set and third with 3.51 kills per set. The four-time all-Canadian and fellow fifth-year veteran Anna Licht led the Blues with 35 and 34 serving aces, respectively.
 
Licht highlights U of T's depth, which sees five players averaging over 2.4 points per set. The middle blocker from Toronto topped the Blues with 51 total blocks. She, along with third-year middle Jenna Woock, are vital to the Blues success in the middle.
 
On the left side, U of T boasts a strong hitting duo in Caleigh Cruickshank and Hope Kotun. Cruickshank, a fifth-year veteran and nursing student, has averaged 2.5 points per set, while Kotun has had a breakout second half for the Blues, averaging 2.4 points per set.
 
MEN'S PREVIEW: Toronto's men finished the season with a near-perfect 17-1 record, sitting first in the OUA East division and holding the best record in the province for the first time since 2003-04.  The Blues won a league-best 51 sets and ranked third in fewest sets lost (19).
 
The Blues will be battling for a spot in the OUA Final Four for the second straight season, which will be hosted by the top seed in the West next weekend (March 6-8). The top three teams in the OUA will advance to the 2020 U SPORTS championships, March 13-15, at the University of Manitoba.

"We are preparing for this match as we prepare for all our matches, cognizant of the fact that it is a playoff game against a very good Brock team that has been playing their best volleyball of the season," said Varsity Blues head coach John Barrett. "Our goal will be to stay in the moment and compete for every point to the absolute best of our abilities."
 
The Brock Badgers finished fourth in the OUA West with a 7-10 record. The two squads met back in November with the Blues coming away with a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-16, 27-25) victory in St. Catharines.
 
Fourth-year setter Jordan Figueira again proved to be one of the best setters in the country, ranking second in the province with 9.51 assists per set, fourth with 24 serving aces and fifth with 1.95 digs per set.
 
Sophomore left side hitter Evan Falardeau led the Blues offensively this season, ranking fourth in the OUA with 3.57 kills and 4.1 points per game. Not far behind was fifth-year outside hitter Chris Towe, who also sat in the Top 10 in the OUA with 3.21 kills and 3.6 points per set.
 
Third-year libero Daniel Tudor led the Blues defensively and ranked second in the OUA with 2.49 digs per set.
 
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