The No. 2 nationally-ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team made quick work of the Waterloo Warriors, defeating them 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-18) in OUA quarter-final action on Saturday afternoon at Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.
 
With the win, the Blues will now host the OUA Final Four, March 6-7, at Goldring Centre. Toronto will take on the Western Mustangs in semifinal action on Friday at 4 p.m. Advance tickets are on sale now! 
 
The 6:30 p.m. semifinal will feature the winners of Ryerson/Guelph and Brock/York, to be determined following quarter-final action tonight. The two semifinal winners will not only play for the OUA Quigley Cup but will also advance to the 2020 U SPORTS championship, March 13-15, at the University of Calgary.
 
"I think overall we played amazing," said fifth-year left side hitter Caleigh Cruickshank. "Everyone came in with a goal and I think we all did a good job accomplishing it. I think our setter, Hayley Goodwin, really came out and ran our offence and overall set the tone for the team."
 
TORONTO STATS: Fifth-year right side hitter Alina Dormann led all players with 15 points off of 12 kills and three aces, while sophomore left side hitter Hope Kotun had 11 points off of nine kills and two blocks, and added a game-high 12 digs on the day.
 
Cruickshank recorded 10 points: seven kills, two aces and one block and had 10 digs. Second-year setter Hayley Goodwin tallied 30 assists, with fifth-year libero Asli Ersozoglu adding 12 digs in the win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set was a back-and-forth battle from the get-go. Toronto held a narrow 16-14 lead at the technical timeout but found their rhythm from there en route to a 25-18 victory.
 
The Warriors answered the call in the second, getting out to an early 6-2 advantage and building a 16-11 lead at the tech timeout. The Blues responded though, going on a five-point run out of the break to even it up at 16-16. The Warriors pushed ahead again, however, U of T would again respond and tie things up at 22-22 before taking full control and winning 25-22.
 
The see-saw battle continued in the third set with both teams tied at 10-10. Toronto went on a 6-1 streak to build a 16-11 lead at the break and completed the straight-sets victory, 25-18.  
 
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