Banner Season: Brock returns to Quigley Cup championship to quarrel with Marauders
Burlington, Ont. – A familiar face has found themselves right back on the banner season stage to close out the women’s volleyball season, as the Brock Badgers, winners of back-to-back Quigley Cup titles and a finalist the year prior, will have a chance for the three-peat on home court.
Their spot in the 2023-24 finale was in jeopardy at the start of their semifinal against TMU on March 1, as the Bold brought their best to St. Catharines in the early going. The OUA’s fourth-seed captured the first two sets against Brock before the latter fought their way back to complete the reverse sweep. After opening their postseason push with a traditional sweep of Western, the five-set thriller was much more of a nail-biter, but certainly one they have encountered before during their recent string of championship success.
Brock also dropped their first two sets of last year’s Quigley Cup finale. Turning to the likes of Sadie Dick, Sara Rohr, and company therein, the St. Catharines squad was able to prevail to once again hoist the coveted Quigley Cup, and they’ll need that experience to shine through once again when they welcome the Marauders to town on Friday night.
McMaster, who hasn’t won an OUA title since 2016-17 in what was also a five-set thriller, is looking to provide Brock with a similarly daunting challenge on Friday, much like they did in one half of their back-to-back bouts just over a month ago.
On the first night of their double dip at Burridge Gymnasium in early February, Olivia Julien, the OUA rookie of the year, led the way for McMaster with 14.5 points, one of five Marauders to reach double-digit points in the balanced four-set win. Brock would exact their revenge the next night; however, as Dick and Madison Chimienti combined for 26.5 points in the encore to power the Badgers to the three-set triumph and begin their modest three-game winning streak ahead of the postseason.
Seeing that pair leading the way for Brock is nothing new, as the dynamic duo were among the team’s top-three scorers this season, alongside Emily Foest. Each eclipsed three points per set and over 2.5 kills per set, with Dick pacing the pack at a .281 hitting percentage. Helping to facilitate Brock’s potent offence, which ranked second in the OUA in points and points per set, second in hitting percentage, and first in kills per set and assists per set was Rohr.
The conference’s co-MVP had a sparkling season for the Badgers en route to her 10.90 assists per set (1st in OUA) 1.76 digs per set, and nearly 0.5 blocks per set, and will be looking to keep the award-winning play going strong on the championship stage.
A similarly balanced attack anchors the McMaster side as well, led by all-stars Julien and Sullie Sundara. Despite suiting up for just 12 matches this year, the latter was a threat each time she stepped onto the court. Her 4.5 points per set led the maroon machine – and were second in the OUA – to go along with her 3.49 kills per set and .224 hitting percentage, but the team’s impeccable supporting cast also saw four other players surpass the two points-per-set plateau, including Emma McKinnon, Ellie Hatashita, and Jenna Woock.
While much of the McMaster roster may not bring the same kind of championship experience as the Badgers, one member who does is first team all-star Woock, who came to McMaster for 2023-24 after spending four seasons and winning two championships with the Toronto Varsity Blues. But right alongside the veteran middle is Julien, who took the OUA by storm in her rookie of the year campaign.
With a sparkling debut regular season already in tow, the first-year outside hitter has continued to step up during the team’s quest for the cup, most recently leading the way both offensively and defensively in McMaster’s four-set semifinal win over Queen’s. Her 16 kills and team-leading 15 digs, alongside Sundara’s 19 kills were key for the Marauders win, especially on the heels of them losing a pair of late regular season games to the Gaels just a couple weeks prior.
The Marauders dropped just five games in the regular season, compared to their 15 wins, but four of those losses came in their final six matches. They were able to avenge a pair of them to get through the semifinals, and they can flip the script on a third should they overcome the two-time defending champions on Friday, but that is no small feat. They will need to ensure that their potent serving (1st in OUA with 185 service aces), impeccable defensive play (2nd in OUA with 15.42 digs per set; 4th with 156 total blocks), and high-flying offence (3rd in OUA with 16.1 points per set) are all at their best at the Bob Davis Gymnasium against Brock.
And for the Badgers, they too will need to bring their best, but backed by a trio of championship runs in the last three seasons – the last two ending victoriously – the experience that they bring to the Quigley Cup court in front of their home fans will also be a contributing factor to determine if they complete the three-peat or if the OUA crowns a new women’s volleyball champion in 2023-24.
