The Bisons women’s volleyball team defeated the Montreal Carabins 3-1 in the U-Sports national women’s volleyball gold medal game on Sunday, March 16 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
The first set was neck and neck for the first few minutes, but then the Bisons edged past the Carabins. The Bisons started strong in the first set, recording 14 kills with only one error on 32 total attempts for a 0.406 hitting percentage. This set was exceptional, and the herd beat the Carabins to win the set 25-20.
The second set took a different turn as the Carabins dominated early on, but the herd soon caught up and took the lead. The Carabins’ positioning during defensive moments was brilliant, but the herd was effective with their tips. The second set ended with a set score of 25-19 for the Bisons. The herd recorded 15 kills with four errors on 37 total attempts for a 0.297 hitting percentage.
The third set started with a point for the Bisons, thanks to an error by the Carabins, but the final set score was 26-24 for the Carabins. The Bisons had 12 kills with only two errors of 29 total attempts for a 0.345 hitting percentage.
The fourth set began with higher intensity as the Bisons gave it all in their offence, with a total of 15 kills. The final set score was 25-16. The herd managed to seize the gold by a huge margin.
For the Bisons in the offence, three players stood out with the most kills. Raya Surinx led the way with 23 kills, making a significant impact at the net. Light Uchechukwu followed closely behind, delivering 11 kills. Andi Almonte also recording 10 kills. These three were instrumental in driving the Bisons’ attack and keeping the team competitive throughout the match.
For the Bisons on defence, Uchechukwu and Julia Arnold were key contributors in digs. Arnold led the team with 15 digs, showing strong defensive awareness and positioning. Uchechukwu and Surinx had 10 digs each. Their efforts were crucial in the Bisons’ ability to extend rallies and maintain control throughout the match.
In a post-game press conference, the Bisons women’s volleyball coach Ken Bentley commented on the win and praised his team.
“This team has blown me away for the last three or four years,” he said. “I’m just so proud of this group, they’ve been such a treat to coach, they just work so hard.”
“We’ve worked so hard for this, and it feels overdue,” Surinx said. “Our focus throughout this whole tournament was just playing how we play and not changing it. At the beginning of the year, we said, ‘play this game exactly how you would play the national championship in March’ and that’s exactly what we did today.”
Uchechukwu also weighed in. “I think everyone played so great, especially in the second half of this season,” she said. “Now is probably some of the best volleyball we played.”
Katreena Bentley gave her thoughts on the win. “It is a dream come true, and it just feels right, and we cannot have asked for a more perfect moment,” she said. “We finally did it.”
On their way to the finals, the Bisons defeated the Saint Mary’s Huskies 3-0 on Friday, March 14, then went on to beat the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 on Saturday, March 15.
The Bisons’ victory marks an eighth championship win for the women’s volleyball team.
