The Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team are heading back to the OUA Championship after a 3-0 semi-final sweep of the Windsor Lancers on Feb. 28.
Sadie Dick shined on the attack with a game-high 13 kills as Brianne Whalen recorded a team-leading nine digs, while Mackenna Knox was dominant in all aspects of the game, leading Brock with 42 assists and six blocks as well as registering an ace.
Knox’s precisely placed assists were on display in the opening set.
With the game deadlocked at eight, Knox set up four Badger kills in a five-point run as Brock got the early 13-8 lead.
The Badgers quickly increased their advantage with nine of the following 13 points, courtesy of their .423 hitting percentage — which was their best in any set in the match — to take a commanding 10-point lead as Brock candidly won the first set, 25-18.
However, the second set was a different story as the Lancers, who desperately needed a spark, took the opening five points to force a Brock timeout.
Windsor grew their lead to 12-6 on a flurry of Badger errors before the reigning three-time provincial champions responded with seven consecutive points to take their first lead of the set.
With Brock up 13-12, the pendulum rapidly swayed from one side of the court to the other as the teams traded punches, resulting in the set being squared at 23 apiece.
The Badgers were the first side to hold set point in the set courtesy of a Dick kill, one of Brock’s 18 kills in the set — which was the most in a single set by either team — before the Lancers nullified it with a kill of their own.
Every time the Badgers had the advantage, Windsor pushed back, accumulating in a 29-29 deadlock.
A huge combination block by Knox and Charlotte Ross, one of the Badgers’ 10 in the contest, gave Brock their fifth set point of the second, which was followed by a thunderous Knox ace to seal the 31-29 set two victory.
With the emotional swings of the second set fueling the Badgers, Brock jumped to a 6-3 lead as they looked to clinch a spot in their fifth consecutive Quigley Cup.
But the Lancers were eager to crush the Badgers’ dynasty as they cut the Brock lead down to one, 13-12, before the Badgers took a stranglehold of the game.
Three kills by Laurin Ainsworth and one from Dick opened a 4-0 run by the Badgers, which quickly became an 11-5 run as the Badgers held match point.
With the sold-out Brock crowd on their feet, another Ainsworth smash — her 11th and the Badgers’ 48th of the game — electrified the Bob Davis Gymnasium as the Badgers swept the Lancers 3-0 (25-18, 31-29, 25-17) to continue their hopes of winning a fourth straight provincial title.
The Badgers (OUA second seed) will host the McMaster Marauders (OUA fourth seed) on March 7 in the OUA Championship game in what will be a rematch of last season’s final where the Badgers won 3-1. Brock also won both regular season contests against McMaster this season, 3-1 on Nov. 22 and 3-0 on Nov. 23, and has won six of their last seven home matches against the Marauders dating back to the 2019-20 season.
Tickets have been sold out, however the game can be streamed on oua.tv.
For more information on the Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team, visit gobadgers.ca.