The Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team hosted the seventh nationally ranked Brock Badgers on January 24 at Goldring Centre. Hot off the heels of their previous 3–1 win against the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold, the Blues hoped to continue their six-game win streak. Facing tough competition, the Blues dropped their win streak with a set score of 0–3 (26–28, 24–26, 22–25) 

What happened? 

The opening set was both exciting and dramatic. Although the Badgers set a dominant rhythm early and led the Blues 14–20, the Blues were able to quickly turn the corner and push the set score into overtime. 

With four critical kills from Blues’ second-year outside hitter Julia Liu, the Badgers soon found themselves tied at 26–26. Despite having the scoring momentum, the Badgers were able to eke out two successive points in the form of a kill by third-year outside hitter Daryan Chadwick, and a clutch block from second-year middle blocker Charlotte Ross to steal the first set away at 26–28. 

The Badgers once again found an early lead in the second set by forging a four-point lead, leading the Blues 17–13. After a critical timeout, the Blues fought hard to even up the set score at 24–24, forcing another overtime situation. 

Once more, middle blocker Ross proved to be the final hurdle the Blues could not overcome. With a quick kill from the middle and a follow-up block to deny the side-out, Ross pushed the Badgers ahead of the Blues to bring the set score to 0–2. 

For the third time, the Blues were pushed back by the Badgers in the third set. The Badgers opened up with the biggest lead of the night with a nine-point differential, leading the Blues 12–21. 

The Blues remained tenacious and slowly mounted a comeback led by key digs from third-year libero Delaney Watson and points from fourth-year outside hitter Olivia Zhu. At the peak of the comeback, the Blues exhausted both of the Badgers’ timeouts and minimized the nine-point deficit to only one at 22–23. 

It was the Badgers’ fifth-year outside hitter Emily Foest who helped foil the Blues’ comeback. Foest secured a kill from the pin, followed by a serve which netted the final point through an unforced attacking error to close out the set 22–25 and shut out the Blues 0–3. 

Despite the shutout, the Blues displayed a high level of resilience and put up strong performances. Zhu led the Blues’ offence with 15 kills, followed by Liu with 12 kills. Watson led the defensive effort with 13 digs, and rookie setter Marina Gutske closed the match with 34 assists. Top performers from the Badgers include Foest, who put up 15 kills, and Ross, who notched five critical blocks.

What’s next? 

The following afternoon, the Blues returned to Goldring Center with a vengeance to beat the Badgers. This time, the Blues came up on top, defeating the Badgers 3–1. The Blues’ hot streak has since continued, as they took two sweeping wins against the Royal Military College Paladins on January 30 and 31. The results of this weekend’s matches now place the Women’s Volleyball team at sixth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league. 

The final two matchups on the docket for the remainder of the OUA regular season will see the Blues host the Queen’s Gaels on February 6 and 7 and the Western Mustangs on February 13 and 14.