First serve in the historic first CIS championship match for the UBC Okanagan women's volleyball team is at 12:30 p.m. PT (2:30 p.m. Brandon, MB (Local time)).
Game Times (PST)
CIS (Canadian Interuniversity Sport) national championship quarter-final
SATURDAY, MARCH 12th, 2016:
$ PM | (3-seed) UBC Okanagan Heat (33-3, 22-2, 2-1) vs the (2-seed) Toronto Varsity Blues (30-4, 19-0, 4-0)
Webcast | Live Stats | Tickets
@ Healthy Living Centre (HLC), Brandon, MB
| UBCO | TALE OF THE TAPE REGULAR SEASON |
TOR |
|---|---|---|
| 22-2 | W-L | 19-0 |
| 9-1 | Last 10 | 10-0 |
| 5-0 | Last 5 | 5-0 |
| 70-15 | Sets | 57-3 |
| 15-0 | 3 set matches | 16-0 |
| 5-0 | 4 set matches | 3-0 |
| 2-2 | 5 set matches | 0-0 |
| 12.61 (2) | Kills/set | 12.75 (1) |
| 9.47 | Opp. Kills/set | 9.12 |
| .240 (2) | Hitting Pct. | .250 (1) |
| .089 | Opp Hitting Pct. | .072 |
| 11.67 (4) | Assists/set | 11.60(1) |
| 1.98 (7) | Aces/set | 2.55 (1) |
| 15.20 (1) | Digs/set | 17.30 (3) |
| 13.02 | Opp. Diggs/set | 15.33 |
| 2.49 (2) | Blocks/set | 2.60 (1) |
#3-seed UBC OKANAGAN HEAT (32-3, 22-2 Canada West)CanWest Standings: 1st reg season.
Last week: 1-1 // (Fri W, 3-1) vs UBC (Sat L, 3-2) vs. TWU
CIS Nationals: Fri W, 3-0 vs Dal
Streak: Won 1
Head coach: Steve Manuel (15th season – 5 in CIS)
Playoff record: 2-1
Playoff finish: Canada West finalists
Overall record vs. CIS teams: 32-3
Top 10 final ranking (Feb. 23): No. 1
Top 10 best ranking: No. 1 (8 polls)
Top 10 number of weeks ranked (15 polls): 15
Conference award winners: Steve Manuel (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars: Katie Wuttunee (M)
Conference 2nd team all-stars: Katy Klomps (M), Brianna Beamish (LS/OH)
Conference all-rookie team: None
CIS championship best result: First appearance
CIS championship last appearance: First appearance
CIS championship sequence: First appearance
2014-15 Record: (27-9, 19-5) (T1st)
2015 CanWest Playoffs: 2-2 - 4th
2015 CIS Tournament: N/A
Last CanWest Title: N/A
Last CIS Title: N/A
Saturday the Heat: The Heat women's volleyball team will tread more untouched territory for the Instition in the CIS. UBC Okanagan will play in their first ever national semifinal on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT against the OUA champs and undefeated in league play Toronto Varsity Blues.
Current Form: In their first CIS championship match the Heat dispatched the AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-15).
Key Players: Katy Klomps was named Player of the Match versus Dalhousie. She put down nine blocks in the three-set win. Fifth year Katie Wuttunee was named a All-Canadian middle.
Team Stat: The national championship is taking place at Brandon University, the Heat's only post season victories were a two-game sweep in Brandon of the Bobcats in the Canada West Quarter-finals in 2013-14. With Friday's win they move to 3-0 in postseason competition at the HLC.
Season Summary: The UBC Okanagan Heat finished the Canada West regular season atop the conference, with 22 wins and 2 losses, setting a conference record and a single season wins record. The team led by Canada West Coach of the Year Steve Manuel in his 15th season landed as preseason favourites on the national polls.
To open the season UBCO rolled off five straight wins before falling in five sets on Halloween. Just three losses on the season for the Heat and all three went five sets. After the loss in October the Heat won 12 matches in a row, not losing for three months, they fell once in February and then closed the record setting season with another five match winning streak.
A merciless schedule UBC Okanagan faced all three of the Canada West Final Four teams in three consecutive weekends of competition during the regular season, between January 15 and February 6. Of those matches, the Heat only lost one match, consequently against the team that would defeat them in the Canada West gold medal match, Trinity Western. It is the first time that UBC Okanagan has won the Canada West regular season championship, and hosted the Final Four, since joining the league prior to the 2011/12 season.
Along with coach Manuel UBC Okanagan placed a trio of fifth years on the Canada West All Star team. Middles Katie Wuttunee and Katy Klomps were repeat selections and were joined by outside hitter Brianna Beamish. Wuttunee. The squad exorcised their postseason demons against UBC in the Final Four semifinal match, defeating the Vancouver team in the playoffs for the first time and earning their first ever spot at the CIS Women’s Volleyball Championship. The Heat lost the Canada West gold championship match in five sets to Trinity Western, but will still have a chance to take home a national title in Brandon, MB.
Overall Head to Head: (0-0) These teams have not met in any official CIS competition.
#2-seed TORONTO VARSITY BLUES (30-4, 19-0 OUA) CIS Nationals: Fri W, 3-2 vs McGill
Head coach: Kristine Drakich (27th season)
Regular season record: 19-0
Regular season standing: 1st OUA East
Playoff record: 4-0
Playoff finish: OUA champions
Overall record vs. CIS teams: 30-4
Top 10 final ranking (Feb. 23): No. 2
Top 10 best ranking: No. 2 (2 weeks)
Top 10 number of weeks ranked (15 polls): 15
Conference award winners (OUA East): Alina Dormann (MVP & rookie), Kristine Drakich (coach)
Conference 1st team all-stars (OUA East): Alina Dormann (RS), Bojana Radan (M), Madelyn Mandryk (S), Denise Wooding (LIB)
Conference 2nd team all-stars (OUA East): Tessa Davis (M)
Conference all-rookie team (OUA East): Alina Dormann (RS)
CIS championship best result: 4th place (2015, 2001)
CIS championship last appearance: 2015 (4th place)
CIS championship sequence: 2nd straight appearance
Toronto Varsity Blues: Undefeated in league play the Varsity Blues are not just a great OUA team, they have also defeated Canada West teams in their preseason. The Blues defeated both Manitoba and Winnipeg twice. They did fall to Brandon in five sets. One of the Heat's three losses on the season was to Winnipeg.
Five sets: The U of T showed great poise winning in five sets over McGill in the opening round of the CIS Nationals. During the course of the season Toronto only played in three other five set matches and none since early October. Prior to yesterday the Blues were 2-1 in five setters.
Last year at CIS championship: The Varsity Blues hosted the national tournament last year. They finished fourth after dropping a match to Alberta in a semifinal and then to Montreal in the Bronzemedal match.
Season summary (courtesy of CIS): The No. 2 nationally ranked University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's volleyball team earned their second straight provincial title in 2016, capping off a perfect 22-0 OUA season heading into the national championships. Toronto earned the OUA's lone berth to the CIS national championship with a dominant 3-0 win over the Ryerson Rams last Saturday.
It will mark U of T's 10th CIS championship appearance in program history and third time they've reached the national stage in the past seven seasons. Toronto boasts their 10th OUA title in program history, claiming nine of the past 21 provincial banners, and becomes the first team to win back-to-back OUA titles since the Blues claimed four straight from 2001-04.
U of T went a perfect 19-0 during the 2015-16 regular season, finishing atop the OUA East division. Toronto earned their spot, and hosting right, to the Final Four after a 3-0 quarter-final win over Ottawa last weekend and went onto defeat the McMaster Marauders, 3-1, in semi-final action last night.
Season preview (from U of T): Despite the loss of veteran all-stars Charlotte Sider and Jennifer Neilson, the Varsity Blues boast an eclectic mix of veteran leadership and rookie raw talent.
Fifth-year veterans Denise Wooding and Bojana Radan have been named co-captains of the 2015-16 squad. Wooding was named the 2015 OUA libero of the year after ranking second in the province with 4.73 digs per set last season.
Radan, a middle from Windsor, Ont., garnered her first OUA all-star nod last season after leading the Blues with 64 blocks. Radan will also count on third-year standout Tessa Davis, who was a member of the 2013-14 CIS all-rookie team, to continue to improve her play and find even more ways to score points in the middle.
Wooding, along with sophomore Anna Feore and third-year libero Asli Ersozoglu, have had an impressive passing and defensive game in the pre-season. Feore garnered tournament MVP honours as the Blues won the University of Winnipeg Invitational two weeks ago.
Toronto's net play on the outside will be strong this season, thanks to fourth-year veteran Caleigh Cruickshank, who ranked third on the team with 3.2 points per set last season, along with rookie Olivia van Baaren, a 6-foot-0 leftside from the Ottawa Mavericks.
Toronto also looks to rookie Alina Dormann to make an impact this season. Dormann, a 6-foot-1 right side, also from the Ottawa Mavericks, was a member of the Canadian junior national team in 2015.
Leading the offence once again this year will be fourth-year setter Madelyn Mandryk. The Lockport, Man., native was named an OUA East second team all-star after leading the CIS with 10.19 assists per set last season. She was also honoured with the R.W.Pugh Fair Play award at the CIS championship.