The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team upset the No. 5 nationally ranked Brock Badgers 3-1 on Saturday (Jan. 24) afternoon inside Goldring Centre – Kimel Family Field House.
Set scores in the match were 30-28, 28-26, 21-25, 25-19.
Trailing by four points late in the first set, the Blues were able to string together a run to draw even with the Badgers and push the action into extra points. From there, back-to-back kills from second-year outside hitter Julia Liu shifted the advantage to the Blues before a service ace from second-year middle Marie Boulerice sealed the opening set victory.
U of T had the Badgers out of rhythm, quickly jumping ahead of the visitors 7-1 to start the second. While the nationally ranked opponent would chip away at the six-point lead, it would be enough for the home side Blues to grab a two-point win in set two.
Following a third set win for Brock, the Blues roared back leading for nearly the entirety of the fourth. In the deciding set, U of T delivered an efficient hitting percentage of .292, while limiting Brock to just .071. Fourth-year Varsity Blues veteran Olivia Zhu sealed the victory for Toronto with the final two kills of the contest.
Liu finished the four-set match with a new season-high 24 points from 22 kills, one service ace and one solo block. Zhu added 18 kills and one ace, while Boulerice dominated at the net with six kills, six solo block, one assisted block, and two aces for good measure. First-year setter Marina Gustke tallied 37 assists in the win. Defensively, third-year libero Delaney Watson crossed the 20-dig threshold for the second time in the last three matches, finishing the afternoon with 25.
Emma Baruchelli topped all Badgers in the loss, registering 11 kills, one ace and three solo blocks. Brock veteran outside hitter Emily Foest also impressed with 12 kills and a team-high 19 digs.
Prior to the start of the third set, the Varsity Blues honoured the 10-year anniversary of the 2015-16 OUA and U SPORTS women's volleyball championship team. Capturing the first national championship banner in program history, the squad delivered an undefeated season, capping the sensational run with a straight sets victory over the Trinity Western Spartans in the U SPORTS Championship Gold Medal Match.
"This was a group of athletes that gave so much to the program and had such a clear vision of where they wanted to go," said Kristine Drakich of the championship alumnae. "They truly believed in their hearts that we were going to win and played like that the entire season. And to see where they are today—we have teachers, nurses, doctors—I think that is just as important for our current athletes to see."
Toronto has become one of only three teams to defeat the nationally ranked Badgers this season. With the win, Toronto improves their record to 9-5, ranking fifth in the OUA standings and just two games behind a Top 3 position.
The Blues next travel to Kingston for a doubleheader versus the RMC Paladins. First serve on Friday, Jan. 30 is set for 6 p.m., while start time for Saturday, Jan. 31 will be 2 p.m.
