The Blues avenged their Quigley Cup loss by defeating the Brock Badgers 3-1 (17-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-12) in the consolation final of the U SPORTS championship on Sunday (Mar. 27).

With the win, the OUA silver medalists finish 5^th in the country, ending their season on a high note. 

 "It's amazing to win the final match of the season. To be able to find the energy to play and come out the way we did is a real testament to our players," said head coach Kristine Drakich.

 "It's been a challenging season and for many a challenging two years. I'm nothing but grateful to everybody who has supported us throughout the  season from support staff to the athletes who stuck it out."

TORONTO STATS: The U SPORTS and OUA rookie of the year Julia Murmann led all hitters with 19 points off of 18 kills and one service ace, while fellow outside hitter Hope Kotun added 13 kills and a game-high four service aces. 

Senior libero Sophia Currier led all defenders with 15 digs, while yesterday's Mikasa Top Performer Hayley Goodwin dished out 40 assists.

MIKASA TOP PERFORMER: OUA East MVP and U SPORTS all-Canadian Jenna Woock finished with 10 kills, two service aces and 1.5 blocks.

Woock reflected on the victory, "It felt really good because we were able to end on a high note. We focused on our side of the court and were able to redo what we couldn't do last time."

"I will always remember getting to do this tournament with my teammates. This was our first overnight tournament and it was nice to get more bonding and time together."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: In the first set, the Blues would go down 11-7, forcing an early timeout. The Badgers would take a 16-11 lead into the technical timeout and continue their momentum in the set, causing the Blues to call their second timeout at 20-13. Toronto would fall in the first, 25-17.

The second set would be a different story with the Blues taking the 8-4 advantage, leading to a Brock timeout. The Blues would take the technical timeout at 16-12, keeping the pressure on the Badgers. With the Blues lead whittled to one (19-18), Drakich called a timeout. The rest of the second set would go back and forth as the Badgers would call a timeout down 24-23. A subsequent Brock hitting error gave the Blues the point and a 25-23 set two victory.

A hot start for the Blues led to a Badgers timeout at 5-1 as Murmann would notch her seventh kill of the contest. The Badgers would slowly chip away at the lead but Toronto held their own, taking the technical timeout at 16-13. A Brock rally would cause Drakich to call her first timeout with the Blues lead down to 18-16. Three straight kills from the Badgers gave the St. Catherines squad the 23-22 lead and Toronto used their final timeout. Toronto would take it 28-26 as back-to-back kills from Woock and Kotun sealed the set three win.

Toronto would continue to put the pressure on the Badgers, jumping out to a 7-3 advantage and eventually expanding the lead to 14-5 before Brock had to use their second timeout. A 16-5 technical timeout lead would not be relinquished as the Blues would end their season with a 25-12 set four victory.

"We've played some of our best volleyball over the last few weeks," said Drakich. "It's a good beginning for those who are returning and a good ending for those who are leaving."