Blazers Women's Volleyball off to CCAA National Championships after Magical Playoff Run
Your Blazers Women's Volleyball Team are the 2023-24 MCAC Champions following an incredible run at the provincial championships in Niverville this past weekend. The Championship title is the first for the team since the MCAC fully joined the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA), and second for head coach Jayme Menzies after her 2019-20 team hoisted the Vaughn Rempel Snider Trophy.
It was a Cinderella story for the ages, as almost no one believed whoever met the Providence Pilots in the final would stand any chance of winning the match. Let's recap how the Blazers beat the odds to steal away the title:
Saturday's MCAC semifinal was the marquee matchup of the day, as it featured your Blazers clashing with the Assiniboine Cougars, both coming in with equal 9-9 records on the season, having split the season series three games apiece. The game itself played out much like the season, with a chess match-type feel, with each team counterattacking each other's moves. The Blazers came out on top in the first set, with the Cougars punching back in the second. After the teams swapped wins in sets three and four, a critical fifth set was needed. The Blazers jumped out to an early lead and rode veteran outside Halle Meisner's terrific serving run to get to the switch at an 8-1 advantage. The Cougars made a late surge, but it was too little, too late, as the Blazers punched their ticket to the final with the 3-2 win. Left side turned libero Rachel Bartel was named player of the match in the win, while outside Halle Meisner was honoured for her All-Conference selection, and Julia Sawatzky for her spot on the True Sport Team prior to the first serve.
With Providence making quick work of their semifinal game on Saturday, the matchup was set for Sunday's final, which on paper looked to be the Pilots' for the taking. A perfect 18-0 season, with only one match taken to five sets, the Pilots' balanced attack with Player of the Year powerhouse left side Tyra Peters looked to be a lock for Manitoba's representative at the upcoming CCAA National Championships. The Blazers had only managed to take two sets off their rivals during the season, both occurring prior to the Christmas break when they still had their breakout outside Julia Sawatzky and setter Paige Wright at full health.
The game started with Providence buoyed by a raucous crowd expecting a big win for the provincial title, making quick work of the Blazers in set number one. However, as with their semifinal matchup the day prior, CMU was able to bounce back quickly and snuck out a second set victory to even the match. The Pilots responded with another convincing win, which could have crumbled many other teams, but the Blazers' resolve to not go down easily remained. Keeping pace with the Pilots in the fourth set, the Blazers found themselves with their backs against the wall facing championship point down 23-24. The entire Providence bench stormed the court after what they believed was the winning play, but an overturned call went in the Blazers' favour, knotting the set back up at 24 and providing the turning point of the match. The Blazers would score three of the next four points, forcing a fifth set tie-breaker. Perhaps the huge home crowd turned out to be too much of a heavy burden on the Pilots who had the weight of immense expectations on them, paired suddenly with facing a fifth-set situation that they hadn't had to deal with since their second weekend of play, but the team was clearly in unfamiliar territory. A neck-and-neck race in the deciding set had the teams swap sides with Providence leading 8-7; however, CMU battled back and closed the gap, eventually taking a slim two point lead late in the set that continued going back-and forth until the Blazers earned a two championship points of their own, first when leading 14-12, then at 14-13. Some scrappy devensive plays extended the rally until finally CMU's Layla Reichert was able to go over the Providence block and find the back corner for the massive win.
Reichert earned herself Championship MVP in the historic win with a game-high 21 kills. Not to go understated was the a balanced Blazers offence throughout their playoff run, with Reichert leading the way with 38 kills, followed by her All-Conference counterpart Halle Meisner with 20 total kills on the weekend. A consistent middle attack from Annika Kornelsen (17 kills), and Peyton Pistawka (16 kills) was complemented by a strong hitting and blocking performance from right side Sahra McKenzie (13 kills, 4 blocks). With several shuffles to the lineup late in the season, it definitely had the feel of a full-team win, with every Blazer playing their part in the Cinderella story.
The Blazers are now preparing for their CCAA National Championships debut hosted by Red Deer College at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre in Red Deer, Alberta. The team will bus out on Monday, with practices and Awards Banquet held on Tuesday, before the Blazers open up the tournament with a quarter-final matchup with the country's top team, the Lakeland College Rustlers at 3PM MST on Wednesday, March 6. Stay tuned for all the updates throughout the tournament!
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