Varsity Athletics | 2/12/2025 2:23:00 PM
And then there was one.
One more week, that is, of regular season play for the York University Lions varsity teams. With one – men’s volleyball – having already clinched a home playoff, and three others – women’s hockey, volleyball and basketball – still fighting for their playoff lives, there will be no shortage of excitement this weekend.
Here’s what’s going on in the den this week:
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
As one of the teams fighting for a playoff berth, it all comes down to this for the women’s basketball team, which hosts the OUA Central division-leading TMU Bold and Brock Badgers to close out the regular season beginning Wednesday night against TMU. The Lions upset the Bold 62-57 down at Mattamy Athletic Centre on Saturday night, and will look to do it again on their home floor. A loss does to TMU does not eliminate York, but forces a must-win on Saturday against Brock. Meanwhile, a win by York does not clinch them a spot, but eliminates the loser of Wednesday’s Nipissing and Laurentian game in Sudbury. A Nipissing win will eliminate Laurentian from playoff contention, meaning York would need a win or a Nipissing loss Saturday to make the playoffs regardless of their result on Wednesday. A Laurentian could eliminate Nipissing depending on the score. If Laurentian wins by six or more, they would own the tiebreaker over Nipissing. Tip-off for both this week’s games, including Saturday’s senior night where six graduating Lions will be honoured, is set for 6:00 pm. You can get your tickets to both contests here or stream them on OUA TV.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
The men’s basketball team also closes out its season on its home floor against the Bold and Badgers. York put up a pair of valiant efforts last weekend against McMaster and TMU, leading by double digits in both games. However, they were unable to close them out, dropping both games in the late going. Despite a 4-16 record entering Wednesday night, it’s been a strong building season for Jermain Holness (“Jay”) and his staff, which prioritized a youthful roster this season in an attempt to build a competitive program for years down the line. Early indications suggest the building has begun. Tip-off for both games, including Saturday’s senior night recognizing York’s four graduating athletes, is set for 8:00 pm. You can get your tickets to both tilts here or stream them on OUA TV.
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
The Lions women’s hockey team will play the biggest game of its season Friday afternoon in St. Catharines against the Brock Badgers. As fate would have it, York and Brock are battling for the OUA West play-in spot, with York holding a four-point cushion. A York win of any kind, and they’re in and will visit either Laurier or Windsor on Feb. 20 for the play-in game. A loss, and York still controls its own destiny in its season finale against the Guelph Gryphons. If they win in regulation on Saturday, they clinch a play-in berth regardless of what Brock does at Nipissing. The Lions also clinch a spot even with two Brock regulation wins (including Friday vs. York). If they earn an overtime win Saturday vs. Guelph, paired with the two Brock regulation wins see the teams finish tied with 34 points. In this scenario, York has already clinched the tiebreaker with Brock based on regulation plus overtime wins. Puck drop for Friday’s game is at 12:00 pm from Brock, while Saturday’s senior night game honouring York’s three graduates begins at 7:00 pm. You can get tickets for Saturday’s game here and stream them both here.
MEN’S HOCKEY
The Lions men’s hockey team looks to close out a solid second half on a high note when they host the Concordia Stingers and McGill Redbirds this weekend at Canlan Ice Sports. York lost to Concordia 8-1 in the fall term finale on Nov. 30, a score that’s deceiving when you consider they scored first and trailed only 2-1 after two periods before allowing six third-period goals on the second day of a back-to-back. The night before, York fell to McGill 7-3 in Laval. York will be in tough against the No. 7 team in the country in the Stingers, but will look to play spoiler Concordia battling for top spot in the OUA East. They can do the same against McGill, who is hoping to avoid being the six seed in the East and pass the UQTR Patriotes, with whom they’re currently tied with 33 points. Friday’s game begins at 7:15 pm, while Saturday’s senior day tilt begins at 3:15 pm. You can get your tickets here or stream them both here.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The playoff scenario for the women’s volleyball team is much clearer, but less positive. They need to win both games against the TMU Bold this weekend, plus have the Toronto Varsity Blues lose both their games to the RMC Paladins. If both teams finished 11-9, meaning York swept TMU and Toronto split with RMC, the Blues would earn the tiebreaker based off their record against common opponents, which are Brock, Ottawa, Queen’s, RMC, Trent, TMU, and Waterloo. The Lions went 8-6 in those games, while the Varsity Blues went 9-5 thanks in part to two upset victories over the Waterloo Warriors, who are tied for fourth in the OUA. So, while the hill for York is steep, they will look to control what they can control and, at the very least, finish the regular season on a high note and with double-digit victories. Friday night’s game begins at 6:00 pm, while Saturday’s first serve flies at 1:00 pm. You can stream both games on OUA TV.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
The men’s volleyball team is the only team which has clinched a playoff spot. With last Saturday’s win over the Brock Badgers, York has also clinched an OUA quarter-final home game on Feb. 22. The only thing left to determine is where the Lions will finish in the standings and, with that, their quarter-final opponent. York is currently second in the OUA in a tie with Queen’s. York holds that tiebreaker by virtue of sets won in head-to-head competition (5-4). This means that if York sweeps the 7-11 TMU Bold this weekend, they will finish second regardless of what Queen’s does in its games against the Trent Excalibur and would play either McMaster and Guelph in the quarters. However, if Queen’s wins one more game than York this weekend, they will finish second while the Lions will either finish third or fourth, depending on what the Toronto Varsity Blues do against the RMC Paladins. If York splits with TMU while Queen’s and Toronto both sweep their opponents, York will drop all the way to fourth and would play either Nipissing or Western. There is also the unlikely possibility of a three-way tie between the Lions, Gaels and Varsity Blues for second place at 15-5, which would come about with a York split vs. TMU, a Queen’s split vs. RMC and a Toronto sweep of RMC. In this scenario, York would finish second by virtue of set record against the other two teams. York was 9-8 in sets against those two teams, while Q Toronto was 8-8 and Queen’s was 8-9, meaning the Gaels would drop all the way to fourth. The simplest scenario sees York take care of its own business and clinch second, which would guarantee the chance to host an OUA semi-final and likely the OUA bronze medal game or the OUA championship. Match times this weekend are 8:00 pm on Friday night and 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. You can stream both games on OUA TV.
TRACK & FIELD
After setting 27 personal bests and several more OUA standards last weekend at the Windsor Team Challenge, the Lions track and field team will send athletes to Carleton, Toronto and Guelph for Last Chance Meets ahead of the OUA championship in Windsor next weekend. All three meets begin Friday and run through Saturday.
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