Fresh off their second consecutive OUA championship title victory, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team has earned the No. 2 seed heading into the 2020 U SPORTS championship, March 13-15, at the University of Calgary.

It will be an OUA Quigley Cup final rematch as the Blues open the championship versus the No. 7 Brock Badgers on Friday at 3 p.m. EDT. All games be played at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.

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TEAM PROFILES
 

No.	Team	Playoff Finish	Records (Reg. Season / Playoffs)	Last / Total Titles	Kills/Set	Blocks / Set
1	Trinity Western	CW Champions	22-2 / 5-1	2015 / 1	12.41 / 4th	2.55 / 1st
2	Toronto	OUA Champions	17-2 / 3-0	2016 / 1	11.45 / 16th	1.96 / 23rd
3	Dalhousie	AUS champions	19-1 / 4-0	1982 / 1	11.60 / 13th	2.36 / 6th
4	Alberta	CW Finalists	18-6 / 4-3	2007 / 7	12.62 / 1st	2.13 / 13th
5	Mount Royal	CW Bronze Medalists	21-3 / 4-3	Never	12.55 / 3rd	2.39 / 5th
6	Montreal	RSEQ Champions	13-7 / 4-0	Never	11.05 / 21st	2.15 / 12th
7	Brock	OUA Finalists	14-5 / 2-1	Never	12.11 / 5th	1.73 / 27th
8	Calgary	Hosts	9-15 / 0-0	2004 / 4	11.28 / 17th	2.49 / 3rd

No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans
CW Champions

It was a record-breaking season for Trinity Western's women's volleyball team, to say the least.
 
Led by head coach Ryan Hofer, the defending Canada West champion Spartans came out of the gate strong by winning eight in a row and 14 of their first 15 games of the season – ultimately setting a new program-best record of 22-2.
 
Headlined by first team all-star Hilary Howe, the Spartans boasted at least one athlete within the top five of nearly every statistical category. Howe ranked second in conference kills per set (3.95) and third in service aces-per set (.057), Avery Heppell ranked second in hitting percentage (.348), and Mikaelyn Sych led the conference for the second consecutive season in blocks per set (1.30).
 
No. 2 Toronto Varsity Blues
OUA Champions
 
The Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team won their second consecutive OUA title with a 3-0 victory over the Brock Badgers on Saturday night.
 
The Blues earned hosting rights to the OUA Final Four as the top seed in the East (17-4 record) after defeating the Waterloo Warriors in straight sets in quarterfinal action.
 
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.

No. 3 Dalhousie Tigers
AUS Champions
 
Led by three-time AUS MVP Courtney Baker, the Tigers were a force to be reckoned with in the AUS conference all season long.

Starting off the season in their typical fashion, the Tigers went 8-0 to start the first half of the regular season, dropping just two sets in the run. The momentum continued through the month of January, with the Tigers going on a 10-0 run, losing to the Acadia Axewomen in the second last match of the regular season.

A fantastic 19-1 regular season record gave the Tigers the top seed and a No. 5 ranking in the U SPORTS Top 10 going into the conference championship best-of-three semifinal series against UNB. They swept UNB 2-0 in straight sets to move on to face Saint Mary's in the AUS championship best-of-three final. The Tigers also swept that series 2-0 to earn their eighth-consecutive championship title.

No. 4 Alberta Pandas
CW Finalists
Coming off a Canada West silver medal, the Alberta Pandas head down to Calgary in search of a fourth-straight medal at the U SPORTS Championship, and their first gold since 2007.
 
Led by Canada West Player of the Year Kory White, the Pandas finished the CW regular season in third, before beating both Saskatchewan and Mount Royal in the conference post-season. The Pandas fell to Trinity Western in the Canada West final, earning the program's ninth conference silver.
 
White led U SPORTS with 4.78 kills per set, breaking Pandas single-season records with 406 kills and 467.5 points. Her 4.78 kills per set mark also led the nation by 0.73 kills per set.
 
Starting setter Elyse Hart also led U SPORTS with 10.17 assists per set, while Libero Jenae Eisler finished sixth with 329 digs.
 
No. 5 Mount Royal Cougars
CW Bronze Medalists
 
The Mount Royal University Cougars are coming off the most successful year in program history. Their 21-3 record put them second in Canada West and they reached as high as fourth in the country. After capturing the Canada West bronze medal, MRU enters into their first ever National Championship since joining U SPORTS eight years ago.    
 
The Cougars are highlighted by Canada West first team All-Star Dholi Thokbuom who led the conference in hitting percentage (0.386) and was fifth in blocks per set (1.14). Fifth-year Chantel Park was named to the Canada West second all-star team after leading the league in aces (63). She also made history by reaching 159 career aces and becoming the third all-time in the conference. Lastly, team captain and setter Quinn Pelland, was also named to the Canada West second All-Star team as she finished third in assists per set (9.70). 
 
No. 6 Montreal Carabins
RSEQ Champions
 

 
No. 7 Brock Badgers
OUA Finalists
 
Head coach Steve Delaney's roster compiled an impressive 14-5 record in the regular season, thanks in part to an attack that was often too difficult for opponents to overcome. The No. 8 Badgers ranked first in the OUA in both kills per set (12.11) and assists per set (11.59), while also finishing second in both hitting percentage (.227) and in total assists (823).

One of the roster standouts was veteran left side Laura Condotta ranked second in the conference with 257 kills. Fourth-year setter Emily Armstrong, the conference leader in assists per set (9.11), was usually the one getting Condotta in the right position to finish. While Condotta and Armstrong showed the poise expected from battle-tested players, rookie libero Aleiah Torres lead way in digs with 182 (tied for 12th in the OUA).

Brock took down the York Lions in straight sets in the quarterfinals, before beating Guelph to qualify for their first national championship. They then fell to the Toronto Varsity Blues in the OUA title match.

No. 8 Calgary Dinos
Hosts
 

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

 

Date	Event	Time (ET)	Time (PT)	Livestream
Thurs. Mar. 12	All-Canadian Awards Gala	8  p.m.	5 p.m.	N/A
Fri. Mar. 13	No. 2 Toronto vs. No. 7 Brock	3 p.m.	12 p.m.	USPORTS.LIVE
	No. 3 Dalhousie vs. No. 6 Montreal	4:30 p.m.	1:30 p.m.
	No. 1 Trinity Western vs. No. 8 Calgary	8 p.m.	5 p.m.
	No. 4 Alberta vs. No. 5 Mount Royal	9:30 p.m.	6:30 p.m.

 
Full championship schedule available here.







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