In its Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinal, the No. 2 seed Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team defeated the No. 6 seed Windsor Lancers in a three-set sweep (25-18, 31-29, 25-17) on Friday, Feb. 28 at Bob Davis Gymnasium to advance to the Quigley Cup final.
Fourth-year right-side hitter Sadie Dick registered a game high in points, recording 13 kills and two block assists for 14 points.
“I think our team prepared really well this week, we had really competitive practices and we just went in there and played to win,”, said Dick. “We always play six on six in practice and there’s no ball hitting the floor without a body going for it, I think that’s the reason we won this game”.
In the opening set, after both sides exchanged points, a string of four kills and a service ace from the Badgers saw the hosts lead 13-8.
Building on their early momentum in the first set, Brock led as high as 22-12, ultimately taking set number one 25-18 over Windsor.
The Badgers hitting percentage of .423 bested the Lancers’ .179.
Looking to bring themselves back into the contest, the Lancers opened the second set with a 12-6 lead.
Windsor’s lead was brief though as Brock recorded six straight points to tie things up in the set with the run including a service ace from Laurin Ainsworth.
Multiple errors from the Lancers midway through the set combined with back-to-back kills from Ainsworth saw the Badgers go up 21-17 in set two.
The Lancers’ late pushback saw both sides trade points until a perfect serve from Mackenna Knox could not be returned by Windsor as it dropped clean to the floor, giving the Badgers a 31-29 second-set victory.
Windsor committed nine errors in the set compared to Brock’s six.
Aiming to sweep the Lancers in straight sets, a timely-kill from Charlotte Ross prompted an early timeout from Windsor, with Brock leading 12-9.
Brock continued to build a strong advantage in the third set, with an error from Windsor putting the Badgers up 24-10 and on the brink of a semifinal victory.
A powerful hit from Ainsworth was too much for the Windsor blockers to handle, icing the game and sending Brock to its fifth-straight Quigley Cup final.
“There’s nothing better than walking into Bob Davis Gymnasium at home. To host our fourth Quigley Cup there and to have our fans behind us means everything to our team. For me personally, it would be great to go out on a four-peat,” Dick said.
Brock’s overall hitting percentage of .353 was superior to Windsor’s .163.
Knox earned a game-high 42 assists, with the Burlington native also recording the most blocks in the contest with 3.5.
Next, the Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team will host the OUA Quigley Cup final against the No. 4 seed McMaster Marauders on Friday, March 7 at Bob Davis Gymnasium at 6 p.m. The Badgers have defeated the Marauders in the last two Quigley Cup finals. Tickets will be made available on Monday, March 3 at 10 a.m. You can also catch the action on OUA.tv.