Women’s Volleyball
Women's Volleyball Bronze Medal: White claims bronze for Pandas in sweep over McGill
CALGARY – Meaghan Mealy, Avery Heppell and Savannah Purdy all finished with double-digit kills to help lead the Trinity Western Spartans to a 3-1 (25-14, 14-25, 25-19, 25-20) victory over the Mount Royal Cougars Sunday in the gold medal game at the 2022 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship from the Jack Simpson Gym.
The win gives the Spartans and head coach Ryan Hofer their second National Championship in program history, with their first coming back in the 2014-15 campaign.
Trinity Western didn’t let the championship nerves get the best of them as they came out firing in the first set. The Spartans hit at a 0.478 clip in the first to easily take the opening set 25-14.
Powered by the support from a large contingent of Mount Royal fans, the Cougars bounced back to take the second set, before the Spartans flexed their muscles in the final two sets to take home the gold medal.
Heppell, who was named Championship MVP, led Trinity Western with 15.5 points as she finished with 11 kills and led the team in blocks with seven. Purdy led the Spartans in kills with 13, while Olivia Heinen dished out 36 assists. The Cougars were led offensively by Haley Roe who had a game-high 15 kills in a losing effort. Mount Royal’s Nyadholi Thokbuom equaled Heppell’s block total with seven of her own.
After the first two sets were somewhat lopsided for either side, the third and fourth sets were much tighter throughout. The Spartans managed to be a touch cleaner on their attacks, as their 0.228 hitting percentage for the match topped the Cougars’ 0.147.
Trinity Western had to play in a hostile environment twice en route to taking home their championship as along with Sunday’s final, they played the host Calgary Dinos in their opening match of the tournament on Friday, but the champion Spartans, who lost only one game all season, lived up to their top billing coming into the tournament.
For their part, the Cougars put up a valiant effort in their first-ever U SPORTS final for any Mount Royal program. and will see their tournament run end with a silver medal.
Mikasa Top Performers Presented by Team Nike
- Mount Royal Cougars: #12 Hayley Roe
- Trinity Western Spartans: #12 Avery Heppell
CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
Championship MVP: Avery Heppell, Trinity Western
Championship All-Star Team
- Victoria Iannotti, McGill
- Kory White, Alberta
- Haley Roe, Mount Royal
- Quinn Pelland, Mount Royal
- Savannah Purdy, Mount Royal
- Ansah Odoom, Trinity Western
R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Kenzie Vaandering, Calgary
As the Exclusive Volleyball Supplier of U SPORTS, Mikasa will provide match balls, as well as other prizing to the U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship and the U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship in 2022.