CIS final: No. 2 UBC repeats as national champion

FREDERICTON (CIS) - The No. 2-seeded University of British Columbia Thunderbirds repeated as CIS women's volleyball champions with a spectacular five-set win (25-20, 22-25, 29-27, 20-25, 15-9) over the No. 4 Calgary Dinos, Saturday night, at UNB's Aitken University Centre.

Championship website:
www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009

The Thunderbirds, who ended a 30-year gold-medal drought last season with an equally thrilling five-set, come-from-behind victory over Montreal, became the first team since the 2001-02 Manitoba Bisons to successfully defend the CIS women's volleyball crown. UBC was making its fourth appearance in the national final in six years, having settled for silver in 2006 and 2005.

"It's a totally different feeling this year," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "We had been so close so many times but there was probably a little more emotion during last year's run. The growth in the team over the course of the year was so important for us and it was such a complete team effort tonight to get this win."

Calgary was getting a first crack at the CIS title since capturing the fourth banner in team history in 2004. Despite the loss, the Dinos collected a CIS medal for the sixth straight season as they had finished third four years running going into this weekend's tournament.

"We had a great season. We have nothing to be ashamed of, and going forward our program is in very good shape, so it's exciting," said first-year Dino head coach Jesse Knight, who was an integral part of UBC's 2008 championship run as an assistant on Reimer's staff. "I think the young players that were in this game will benefit from this experience in the next few years."

UBC advanced to Saturday's title match following a 3-1 opening-round win over No. 7 Moncton and a straight-set semi-final victory over No. 6 Laval, while Calgary swept No. 5 York on opening day but had to overcome a two-set-to-one deficit to stun No. 1 Montreal in the semis.

The Canada West rivals had met a week ago in the semi-finals of the conference Final Four with UBC easily prevailing 3-0 on its way to the league title.

Sophomore right side Kyla Richey of Roberts Creek, B.C., led the attack for UBC on Saturday with a match-high 18 kills against only four errors for a .420 hitting efficiency, a performance that earned her tournament-MVP honours.

"Last year was just amazing. It was my first year and I didn't get to play much but I learned so much," said Richey. "It was a team effort so everyone deserves a part of this award. I couldn't have done it without the girls. Nobody tried to look ahead and we took the match point by point, game by game, and we just pushed each other the entire way."

Second-team all-Canadian middle Marisa Field, a fifth-year senior from Kelowna, B.C., and freshman Shanice Marcelle of Victoria contributed 10 kills apiece in the win. Field was dominant at the net with two solo and 10 assisted blocks.

Third-year libero Claire Hanna, a native of Calgary, was stellar on defence leading all players on the court with 18 digs, while Marcelle was one of three T-Birds to dig up 13 balls.

Fourth-year setter Katie Tyzuk of Vancouver was named UBC player of the match for her 55 set assists and 13 digs.

Both Field and Marcelle were selected to the tournament all-star team alongside Richey.

"Marisa was unbelievable. Just unbelievable," said Reimer. "There is only so much you can do as a middle but her feel and her closing on blocks was some of the best I have seen. She covered the net completely and closed hard every time."

Calgary was led by a pair of fifth-year seniors, left side Lauren Perry of Taber, Alta., the player of the game for the Dinos, and first-team all-Canadian right side Holly Harper of Lumsden, Sask., who finished with 17 and 15 kills, respectively.

Perry, with 15 digs, and Harper, with 16, also led the way on defence for the Dinos, with Perry adding a match-high three service aces.

Both veterans made the championship all-star squad, which was completed by two-time CIS player of the year Laetitia Tchoualack of bronze-medalist Montreal and Marie-Christine Mondor of fourth-place Laval.

The T-Birds used a remarkable third-set comeback and a near flawless final frame to capture the sixth CIS banner in school history.

A pair of UBC veterans played equally huge roles as they persevered through injuries to help. Team captain Danielle Petersen (Victoria), playing in her final CIS match, has had a knee injury since mid-way through the season and Liz Cordonier (Vancouver), the T-Birds primary power hitter, had an abominable injury that should have kept her off the court.

Petersen finished with six kills, 13 digs, and seven block assists playing the entire match while Cordonier had seven kills and three digs as she stayed on the court for as long as possible, appearing in four sets.

UBC trailed 12-7 in the third set after splitting the opening two frames but were able to fight all the way back to take a 16-15 lead before seeing the Dinos go on a run of their own to take a 23-20 lead.

The T-Birds were able to pull within one at 24-23 but then had to fend off four Dino set points. UBC finally gained a 28-27 advantage on a Calgary error before Marcelle ended the comeback with a kill.

"I don't even remember what Doug said to us, it is all such a blur, but Doug pretty much told us to play with more heart and that we had more than what we were giving," said Field. "We got a couple of big points and there was the fire and feeling that we love - when we get rolling like that we are hard to stop."

The Dinos responded with a convincing 25-20 victory in the fourth frame but the T-Birds were just too strong in the fifth set, playing arguably their best volleyball of the match with the CIS trophy on the line.

UBC trailed 2-0 early in the final stanza but responded to take a 7-6 lead. The T-Birds then closed the match on an 8-3 run, with Richey finishing the match on a thunderous kill.

"That probably would have been the turning point, had we not fought like heck to take it to them in the fourth," said Knight about the third set. "I don't think that was on us as much as UBC really stepped up. We had a couple chances, but they really did a good job down that stretch, and that's where Kyla Richey won the tournament MVP.

"There are a lot of things that need to go right to win a national championship," added Knight. "It could have easily gone either way right there. I'm really proud of the girls though, especially in that fourth set. We bounced right back and took it right to them."

The T-Birds ended the match ahead in nearly every statistical category, however, the difference was their blocking. UBC ended the match with 19 team blocks compared to just nine for Calgary. Field led the way with one of the most dominant performances of the year, a fitting end to her stellar UBC career.

"When it comes down to it, our team is really a pressure playing team," said Field. "We all want it so bad and we never gave up on anything."

As a team, UBC maintained a .390 hitting efficiency compared to .337 for Calgary.

STAT LEADERS

UBC
Kills: Kyla Richer (18), Marisa Field (10), Shanice Marcelle (10)
Blocks: Marisa Field (2 solo, 10 assist)
Digs: Claire Hanna (18), Shanice Marcelle (13), Danielle Petersen (13), Katie Tyzuk (13)
Assists: Katie Tyzuk (55)

Player of the match: Katie Tyzuk

Calgary
Kills: Lauren Perry (17), Holly Harper (15), Laura Spence (11)
Blocks: Melanie Miazga (2 solo, 6 assist)
Digs: Holly Harper (16), Lauren Perry (15), Raynell Lavertu (14)
Assists: Sarah Lacny (49)

Player of the match: Raynell Lavertu


TOURNAMENT ALL-STARS

Tournament MVP: Kyla Richey, UBC

R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Angela Frawley, York

Tournament all-stars:

- Marie-Christine Mondor, Laval
- Laetitia Tchoualack, Montreal
- Holly Harper, Calgary
- Lauren Perry, Calgary
- Kyla Rchey, UBC
- Marisa Field, UBC
- Shanice Marcelle, UBC



SCHEDULE & RESULTS (all times LOCAL: Atlantic Time)

Video webcast of all 11 games available through:
www.cisport.ca/e/championships/w_volleyball/2009

Thursday, February 26

Quarter-final #1: UBC 3, Moncton 1 (16-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-13)
Quarter-final #2: Laval, 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Quarter-final #3: Calgary 3, York 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-21)
Quarter-final #4: Montreal 3, UNB 0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-16)

Friday, February 27

Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, Moncton 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)
Consolation #2: York 3, UNB 1 (28-26, 12-25, 25-21, 25-20)
Semi-final #1: UBC 3, Laval 0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22)
Semi-final #2: Calgary 3, Montreal 2 (19-25, 25-13, 20-25, 27-25, 15-12)

Saturday, February 28

5th place: Trinity Western 3, York 2 (18-25, 20-25, 25-17, 26-24, 15-4)
Bronze medal: Montreal 3, Laval 2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 15-10)
Championship final: UBC 3, Calgary 2 (25-20, 22-25, 29-27, 20-25, 15-9