Badgers finish second in province

Brock hosted its fourth straight Quigley Cup. 

The No. 2 seed Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team fell 3-0 (22-25, 19-25, 18-25) to the No. 4 seed McMaster Marauders at Bob Davis Gymnasium on Friday, March 7 in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) final. 

Emily Foest led the Badgers in points with 9.5 off of eight kills, one solo block and one block assist.  

A string of errors from McMaster combined with an early service ace from Charlotte Ross saw Brock go up 4-1 to begin the first set. 

Two vital blocks midway through the first set from the Marauders helped the visitors lead 14-12. The advantage did not last long though, as a timely response from the Badgers gave the hosts three straight points to force McMaster to call its first timeout.  

Coming out from the break in play, the Marauders’ defence was able to stifle the Badgers’ offence, with McMaster capturing a 25-22 set win from multiple blocks. 

McMaster came out to a strong start in the second set as three kills from Sullie Sundara helped the Marauders lead 9-4, prompting the Badgers into a timeout.  

The pause did not stop the visitors’ momentum as errors from the Badgers extended the Marauders’ lead to 20-14. Despite a push from Brock with kills from Ross and Laurin Ainsworth, McMaster took set two 25-19.  

Three consecutive kills from McMaster contributed to an early 4-2 set lead for the Marauders. 

Clawing themselves back into the set after going down 12-6, kills from Foest and Sadie Dick helped the Badgers closed the Marauders lead down to just two points.  

Back-to-back service aces from the Marauders put them up 17-12, pushing Brock to call another timeout midway through the set.  

The Marauders’ defence late in the set continued to be a factor, but it was a kill from Sundara that sealed McMaster’s Quigley Cup victory, earning the third set win by a score of 25-18. 

McMaster’s hitting percentage of .283 in the contest bested Brock’s .164. 

Showcasing their defensive efforts in the game, the Marauders recorded 13 blocks in the contest to Brock’s four. 

Second-year setter Mackenna Knox recorded a Brock-high 12 digs in the game as well as notching 28 assists.  

The Badgers finished the regular season with a record of 16-4 and a record of 2-1 in the OUA playoffs. With OUA All-Stars Foest and Knox, and All-Rookie team member Ross all returning for next season, the Badgers will be eager to return to the Quigley Cup final.