ANCASTER, Ont. - One team is playing for a record eighth consecutive and 12 overall Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) women's volleyball championship. Seven other teams are trying to prevent this from happening.
Redeemer University College in Ancaster, Ont. plays host to the 2015 OCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, beginning Thursday and running through Saturday.
Humber College is the prohibitive favourite to win another championship, having gone undefeated in the 2014-15 regular season, and 85 consecutive regular season and OCAA championship matches. But there are seven strong contenders for the crown, including the host Redeemer Royals, who will no doubt try to use a partisan crowd to their advantage.
A total of 12 matches will be played in a span of three days. Following the OCAA awards banquet in Halton Hall at the Holiday Inn in Burlington, Ont., the OCAA quarter-finals will take place on Thursday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m. Losing teams will compete in the bronze medal quarter-finals on Friday, followed by the OCAA semi-final matches. The bronze medal semi-finals and final will take place on Saturday leading into the OCAA gold medal match.
The OCAA champion advances to the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Volleyball National Championship, taking place in Longueuil, Que. next month.
Here is a look at the OCAA quarter-finalists:
Cambrian Golden Shield (8-10, 6th West)
Taking on the role of Cinderella at this year's championship is the Cambrian Golden Shield. Despite their losing record during the regular season, the Golden Shield came up with a crushing 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-21) win at Canadore in the OCAA qualifying round, securing their berth into provincials.
Cambrian could be primed for another upset or two this weekend. Consider that in three of its regular season losses, it took fellow OCAA championship teams Humber, Niagara and Sheridan to five sets. The Golden Shield also defeated the Royals at Redeemer.
Three members of the Golden Shield recorded over 100 kills during the regular season, including fourth-year middle Sara Charlton (Owen Sound, Ont.), second-year outside Hayley Chisholm (Sudbury, Ont.) and first-year left side Amanda Kring (Capreol, Ont.).
Cambrian opens the tournament against familiar foe Niagara. The Golden Shield have not defeated Niagara since crossing over to the west region last season.
Cambrian does have some recent experience at provincials, taking silver and bronze medals at two of the past three championships. It has been 10 years since the Golden Shield won the OCAA title.
Durham Lords (13-5, 5th East)
Similar to Cambrian, the Durham Lords also needed a road victory in the qualifying round to secure a berth at provincials. Unlike Cambrian, it was a nailbiter, with Durham prevailing 3-2 (22-25, 25-23, 27-25, 22-25, 15-11) over St. Clair.
Not surprisingly, it was Jessica Broad (Courtice, Ont.) who led the way. Broad contributed match-highs with 22 kills, three aces and three blocks totaling 28 points. She led all Lords during the regular season averaging 3.4 points per set.
Durham enters the OCAA championship on a roll, having now won five straight. It takes on divisional opponent Georgian in the quarter-finals. It is a rubber match between the teams, having split the regular season series 1-1.
Durham has not won the OCAA championship since 2002. It last medal came in 2005 in the form of bronze.
Georgian Grizzlies (16-2, 1st East)
The Georgian Grizzlies won their first OCAA regional title in recent memory, but have their sights set on an even bigger prize.
Georgian has won just one OCAA championship, way back in 1983. Since that time, the Grizzlies have had no OCAA medals to display in their trophy case. There is no greater opportunity than right now for Georgian to end the drought.
A pair of Grizzlies averaged better than three points per set this season. Fifth-year middle Hannah Campbell (Midland, Ont.) averaged 3.4 points per set, while third-year middle Allison Marshall (Orillia, Ont.) averaged 3.2. Marshall led the Grizzlies with 143 kills.
Georgian has won 14 of its last 15 regular season matches, its only loss coming against quarter-final opponent Durham, a straight sets loss back on Jan. 28. The Grizzlies mauled the Lords in four sets at home on Nov. 7. The winner on Feb. 26 moves one step closer to an OCAA gold medal.
Humber Hawks (18-0, 1st West)
The Humber Hawks have dominated the OCAA west region for a fourth straight undefeated regular season. The Hawks now look to dominate the OCAA championship for a record eighth straight time.
Humber tied Seneca's consecutive championship mark of seven last season, and look to tie Seneca's all-time 12 gold medals this week. Humber already holds the record of 20 total OCAA medals.
The Hawks are led this year by fourth-year outside player Thalia Hanniman (Pembroke, Ont.) and her league-best 4.4 points per set average.
Humber has only been taken to five sets once this season by Cambrian. The Hawks open their tournament against division rival Sheridan.
Niagara Knights (15-3, 2nd West)
After back-to-back sub .500 regular season records, the Niagara Knights charged to second place in the west region. Fifteen wins wasn't enough to unseat Humber, however, forcing Niagara to play in the OCAA qualifying round.
Niagara made short work of Algonquin in the playoff, winning 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-22) at home. The Knights have now won nine straight matches, with their only losses this season coming against fellow OCAA championship teams Humber and Sheridan.
Fifth-year outside Lucy McLay (Stratford, Ont.) led all players with 10 kills and 13 points against Algonquin. She led Niagara averaging 3.5 points per set during the regular season.
The Knights have not been awarded an OCAA medal since earning silver in 2003. Niagara's lone OCAA championship came in 1970.
Niagara takes on Cambrian in the quarter-finals.
Redeemer Royals (12-6, 3rd West)
The Redeemer Royals have the home court advantage at the OCAA championship, which is either a good or bad thing. Redeemer was only 5-4 at home during the regular season compared to a 7-2 mark on the road.
Redeemer features fourth-year right side Curtiss Straatsma (Brampton, Ont.) who led the OCAA with 211 kills. She averaged 4.2 points per set, good for second among OCAA players.
The Royals have never won an OCAA medal. They came close last season, losing the bronze medal match to Trent. Fittingly, Redeemer opens this year's tournament against Trent.
Redeemer has won six straight to end the regular season on a high note.
Sheridan Bruins (12-6, 5th West)
The Sheridan Bruins survived an elimination match at Seneca, winning 3-0 (25-14, 28-26, 25-21) in the qualifying round.
A pair of Bruins recorded 10 points. Second-year left side Dimitra Stathakos (Brampton, Ont.) tallied 10 kills, while fourth-year middle Eva Crnkovic (Brampton, Ont.) contributed eight kills and two service aces.
Sheridan has been playing without injured fourth-year right side Melissa Cappelletti (Cambridge, Ont.) and her 4.2 points per set average.
Sheridan gets the first crack of upending the Humber dynasty. The Bruins lost both regular season matches to the Hawks, but are hoping the third time is the charm.
Sheridan last won an OCAA medal back in 1998 when it was awarded bronze. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Sheridan's lone OCAA championship.
Trent Excalibur (13-5, 2nd East)
The Trent Excalibur are no strangers at provincials, and are coming off their first-ever OCAA medal.
Trent ended the regular season winning six of its last seven matches. Second-year left side Jamie Fryer (Pickering, Ont.) led the team with 159 kills averaging 3.5 points per set, just behind fourth-year outside Sarah MacLaren (Norwood, Ont.) and her 3.7 average.
The Trent-Redeemer match is the only interdivisional meeting taking place in the quarter-finals. These two teams do have a history, however, playing twice at last year's provincials. Trent won both meetings in four sets, including the bronze medal match.
Championship Website: www.redeemerroyals.ca/sports/2015/1/7/GEN_0107154404.aspx
Championship Webcast: www.sportscanada.tv/ocaa/index.php/redeemer-royals
Thursday, February 26
Quarter-Finals
Game 1 - Durham vs. Georgian - 1 p.m.
Game 2 - Cambrian vs. Niagara - 3 p.m.
Game 3 - Sheridan vs. Humber - 6 p.m.
Game 4 - Redeemer vs. Trent - 8 p.m.
Friday, February 27
Bronze Quarter-Finals
Game 5 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 - 1 p.m.
Game 6 - Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4 - 3 p.m.
Semi-Finals
Game 7 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 - 6 p.m.
Game 8 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 - 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 28
Bronze Semi-Finals
Game 9 - Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6 - 9 a.m.
Game 10 - Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5 - 11 a.m.
Bronze Medal Match
Game 11 - Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10 - 3 p.m.
Winning team presented OCAA Bronze Medal at conclusion of match
Gold Medal Match
Game 12 - Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 - 5 p.m.
OCAA Gold and Silver Medals presented at conclusion of match
- OCAA -
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