Another perfect season for No. 2 Women's Volleyball
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Clair (13-3, 13-3) | 22 | 25 | 17 | 9 | 1 |
|
Humber (17-0, 17-0) | 25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
By: Stefan Gerardi
Humber Athletics Communications
ETOBICOKE – No. 2 Humber women's volleyball (18-0, 1st West) has clinched a perfect season. Ontario's top team defeated the St. Clair Saints (13-4, 2nd West) in a four-set thriller (25-22, 22-25, 25-17, 25-9) to etch their name in the Humber Hawks' history book. Although St. Clair narrowly edged out a second-set victory, the Hawks dominated their opponents for most of the match. Humber proved why they are ranked as one of Canada's top teams and are a force to be reckoned with come playoff time in less than two weeks.
Erika Dodd and Cassidy Andrews led the way for the Hawks with ten kills each, and Philippines-native Ara Telan topped the squad with three services aces. Dodd and Stephanie Armstrong co-led with nine digs, while Armstrong's 41 assists were a Humber-high.
Humber's senior students who played in the final home game of their collegiate career were honoured prior to the first serve. Alex Krstonsic and Stephanie Armstrong were given commemorative frames to thank them for proudly representing Humber athletics during their tenure with the women's volleyball team.
Match Recap
With a perfect season on the line in their final game of the 2022-23 campaign, the Hawks were in store for their toughest matchup of the year against the St. Clair Saints. Although Humber's confidence was at an all-time high after winning 17 straight games, they were aware of their opponent's impressive track record. Coming into Saturday night's clash, the Saints sat second in the western division and had only surrendered one loss since Nov. 20.
As expected, the opening frame of the match was neck and neck. Both sides were energetic and ready to take on whatever was thrown at them. Fans at the Hawks' Nest witnessed entertaining back-and-forth volleyball that saw the teams trading points through 44 rallies. With the scoreboard reading 22-22, Humber strung together three points, including an explosive kill from senior honouree Alex Krstonsic to win the set.
The start of the second set was a mirror image of the first. The west's top two teams traded points through 22 rallies to knot the frame at 11. St. Clair went on a 4-0 run that gave a slight lead; however, the Hawks weren't going away. The Saints held the lead until Humber knotted the set at 20, but the Hawks had nothing left in the tank, and St. Clair snuck away with a second-set victory.
The motivated St. Clair Saints began the third set on a 6-3 run. The Hawks knew they needed to come alive to stop their opponents from running away with the set. After the slow start, Humber went on a dominating 15-4 run that gave them a commanding lead. The Hawks never looked back and cruised to a third-frame victory to put them one set win away from a perfect season.
Humber carried their momentum into the fourth set as they began on a 10-1 run. The Saints struggled to get anything going their way, with the roars of Hawks' fans clouding their team chemistry. The Hawks controlled play and ran away with the set. Their opponents only scored nine points in the final frame, and Humber coasted to a perfect season with a convincing victory over the Saints.
Humber Highlights
- The win marks Humber's 11th perfect regular season during the Coach Wilkins era. Coach Wilkins now has more perfect seasons (11) than seasons with at least one loss (10).
- Humber improves its all-time record against the St. Clair Saints to 35-9.
- For the second straight year, Erika Dodd led the team in scoring.
- The Hawks finish the year as the only undefeated women's volleyball team in the CCAA.
- Ara Telan, Keyome Ellis, Hannah Manners, Alexandria Dube, Erika Dodd, and Cassidy Andrews have all set new career highs in points.
What's Next?
The defending provincial champions have claimed the top spot in the OCAA western division. They will look to continue rolling on Feb. 18 when they host a crossover match. The opponent is yet to be determined. First serve is set for 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on the Hawks Sports Network.
