After dropping their first league loss of the season, Women’s Volleyball (12-1) coach Kristine Drakich emphasized the team’s need to move on. With cross-town rivals Ryerson (3-12) and York (11-4) ahead this weekend, the Blues will have to do just that to stay atop the Ontario University Athletic East.
Lessons learned
Western Ontario (12-1) came in to the Athletic Centre Sunday on an 11-game winning streak in a match that pitted the Blues against the best of the OUA West. In four intense sets, the Mustangs were able to down U of T 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25).
“Our goal was never to go undefeated,” Drakich said. “Our goal is to win the OUA. There’s much to be learned from every game, and we learned a lot tonight.”
One of the lessons Drakich cited was about the Blues’ need to maintain a certain level of discipline during the entire match.
“At the end of each set, we played well with our backs against the wall,” she said. “But our concentration at the middle parts of games wasn’t as focused.
“We have to find ways of managing our energy, of keeping the aspects of the game we can control under control.”
Former Blue turns purple
The match up also featured the return of former U of T player Julia Hall. For three seasons, Hall was a member of the Blues, but now in her fifth year she changed colours from blue to purple while pursuing a degree at Western. The all-star left-side hitter was pivotal for the Mustangs as much of the offence ran through her. She had 70 attacks on the Blues, 30 more than her nearest teammate, and racked up a game-high 15 kills, her last taking match point.
What proved the deciding factor was the Blues’ inability to break Western’s two-person block, particularly on the left side. Nearly half of U of T’s 15-person roster is made up of left-side hitters, and when they went up to attack, the Mustang tandem of Hall and middle-hitter Lauren Willoughby smothered 80 per cent of the spikes headed their way.
“We didn’t do a very good job of making their middle make choices,” Drakich said. “Our trouble passing made it easier for her to move to that side of the attack and time their blocks effectively.”
What also dictated the outcome was the Blues’ lack of consistency when serving. The Blues usually field a one-to-one ratio between aces and errors, but on Sunday U of T had four aces to nine errors.
Mama Mila!
Notching three of the aces was left-side hitter Mila Miguel, who led all players with 18 points, 14 of them off kills. Miguel was named player of the match Sunday, and rightly so. She dominated the stat line for the Blues, but during the game she was an anchor defending on the back line, and U of T posted their best rallies while she was under serve.
“Mila did a great job,” Drakich said. “She always plays with high energy.”
Another standout for the Blues was libero Michelle Wood, who led the Blues with 34 digs, many of them spectacular saves that kept the Blues in the rally.
