REGINA (CIS) – The No. 2 seed University of Manitoba Bisons are off to the 2014 CIS Women's Volleyball Championship finals following a three-set sweep over No. 6-seeded Dalhousie (25-22, 25-13, 25-21) in Saturday's 6 p.m. semifinal match at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index
The win secured Manitoba a ticket to the championship finals where they will meet the winner of the UBC/Laval semifinal to be held later on Saturday night. Manitoba remains undefeated against Dalhousie in CIS Championship play, as the Bisons are now 6-0 all-time against the Tigers.
Mariel Garcia helped the Bisons with a .556 hitting percentage, going 10-for-18 with no errors and adding eight digs. Taylor Pischke added 12 kills and had just two errors while hitting .370, while libero Caleigh Dobie had a team-leading nine digs for Manitoba.
Dalhousie's defence ended up with a total of 43 digs and 11 blocks, with Katherine Ryan leading the way with 13 digs. Desiree Nouwen led all players with 17 kills on 42 attacks and also added an assisted block to end up with 17.5 points. Dalhousie's 11-match winning streak comes to an end with the setback, which sends the Tigers to the bronze medal match where they'll face the loser of the UBC/Laval semifinal.
The Bisons started the first set with an early lead but the Tigers came back to even the score and it remained an alternating battle with Manitoba coming out on top 25-22. In the second set, Manitoba continued their strong play with a 25-13 win to make it 2-0. Manitoba led from almost wire to wire in the third set and survived a late Dalhousie run to take the match with a 25-21 win.
The bronze medal match will serve at 3 p.m. tomorrow, while the championship final is scheduled for 6 p.m.
STAT LEADERS
Boxscore: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/2014/championship
Manitoba
Kills: Taylor Pischke (12), Mariel Garcia (10)
Points: Taylor Pischke (12), Mariel Garcia (11)
Blocks: Rachel Cockrell, Emily Erickson, Brittany Habing, Jordana Milne (0,1)
Digs: Caleigh Dobie (9)
Service aces: Brittany Habing (2)
Player of the match: Taylor Pischke
Dalhousie
Kills: Desiree Nouwen (17), Maggie Li, Tara Gowan (5)
Points: Desiree Nouwen (17.5), Tara Gowan (6.5)
Blocks: Tara Gowan, Rachel Wright (0,3)
Digs: Katherine Ryan (13)
Service aces: Maggie Li (2)
Player of the match: Tara Gowan
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times CENTRAL TIME)
Friday, February 28
13:00 Quarter-final #1: Dalhousie 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23)
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Manitoba 3, Ottawa 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: UBC 3, Regina 1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-16)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Laval 3, McMaster 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-19)
Saturday, March 1
13:00 Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, Ottawa 0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-15)
15:00 Consolation #2: Regina 3, McMaster 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Manitoba 3, Dalhousie 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-21)
20:00 Semifinal #2: UBC vs. Laval (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, March 2
13:00 5th place: Trinity Western vs. Regina (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Bronze medal: Dalhousie vs. Loser Semifinal #2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Championship final: Manitoba vs. Winner Semifinal #2 (www.CIS-SIC.tv)