Going for their fifth-straight Ontario University Athletic title, the woman’s volleyball team will face Western Saturday in the semi-finals in London, Ontario. If U of T wins, they will face the winner of the York and Laurier match, in Sunday’s championship.
Western, 19-1, defeated the Blues 3-0 in Toronto in November.
Blues coach Kristin Drakich said that keeping the pressure on the opponent it will be imperative to the team’s success in the final four.
“We must maintain our intensity,” she said. “The key will be to continue serving well and go from there. We play our best when we trust our instincts and play freely. If we can maintain our level of concentration and gain confidence with every point, we’ll elevate our level of play.”
That was the case with the Blues’ 3-0 quarterfinal victory over visiting Ottawa Friday. Toronto, 16-4, dispatched the 12-8 Gee Gees thanks in large part to left-side hitter Miguel Mila coming off the bench and leading the Blues with a game-high 11 kills. She collected player of the match honours for her strong effort.
The Blues broke a 9-9 deadlock with a seven-point run and never looked back after a slow start in the first set, power-hitting their way to a 25-15 victory.
Ottawa shifted their game to a finesse style in the second set, tipping the ball over Toronto’s two-person blocks. The switch forced the Blues to spread their blockers, which the Gee Gees took advantage of by hitting through the spread-out defenders.
The Blues found themselves down 24-21 with Ottawa serving for set point. Toronto setter Anastasia Danilova put an end to the Gee Gees rally by spiking the ball for one of her nine kills. With the serve in hand, the Blues ran off four more points to take the second set, 26-24, before finishing off the Gee Gees 25-17 in the third.
The loss was Ottawa’s third-straight OUA quarterfinal loss to the Blues. Toronto earned a 3-1 victory over Ottawa in the postseason two years ago and swept the Gee Gees 3-0 in playoff action last season.
