In the national final, the VIU Mariners had to get past their toughest rival B次元官网网址� they were able to do that and became champions.
Vancouver Island UniversityB次元官网网址檚 womenB次元官网网址檚 volleyball team won the national championship on Saturday night in Grande Prairie, Alta., defeating the Douglas Royals 25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16 in an all-B.C. matchup to win gold.
The Mariners had lost three out of four matches to the Royals in the regular season and also fell to Douglas in the PacWest provincial championships at the end of February.
B次元官网网址淲e wanted this,B次元官网网址� said Taylor Wickson, player of the match in the final, speaking to Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference TV after the match.
She said her team B次元官网网址減assed amazingB次元官网网址� and blocked well, which had been a focus going into the final.
B次元官网网址淚 couldnB次元官网网址檛 be more proud of the girls,B次元官网网址� Wickson said. B次元官网网址淲e really showed up and IB次元官网网址檓 really proud of all of them.B次元官网网址�
Andrea Cankovic had 14 kills in the final and Mikayla Wagner had 11. Kelsey Hutt had 26 digs, Wickson made 11 blocks and Danielle Groenendijk served four aces.
Shane Hyde said over the course of the tournament, all team members played confidently and played to their potential.
B次元官网网址淩eally, there wasnB次元官网网址檛 a team that challenged us too much,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎s the tournament went on, we played pretty error-free.B次元官网网址�
The Mariners were dominant the the first two days of the tournament, starting with a 25-16, 25-12, 25-7 whitewash of the Boomerang dB次元官网网址橝ndr茅-Laurendeau in ThursdayB次元官网网址檚 opener and then continuing with another straight-sets victory over the Lakeland Rustlers in the semis, 25-15, 25-15, 25-17.
Following their runner-up finish at provincials, the Mariners had completely switched up their blocking scheme and it was effective. The MB次元官网网址檚 blocked so well, said Hyde, that it got opposing teams off their game trying to do different things.
B次元官网网址淲e were so aggressive. Our energy levels were so high and I think we really, truly intimidated the Douglas team,B次元官网网址� Hyde said, adding that VIU was the more experienced team, played like it, and that became a factor.
Looking back over the season, coach said he knew his athletes were capable of getting the right results. A national championship shows he was right.
B次元官网网址淚t was a pretty proud moment for me as a coach,B次元官网网址� Hyde said. B次元官网网址淭his was my fourth national championship, but this was one of the most special ones for me because I really do think that this team was the complete package from the start of the year. And all the ups and downs weB次元官网网址檝e had maybe played into the success we had at the end.B次元官网网址�
Wagner was chosen tournament MVP and Chantal Cumming and Groenendijk were selected as first-team all-stars.
