TORONTO — The Montreal Carabins opened the 2015 Canadian Interuniversity Sport women’s volleyball championship with a 3-0 upset of the UBC Thunderbirds in Thursday’s quarter-final action.
Set scores were 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 in favour of the RSEQ champion Carabins.
With the win, the Carabins advance to their fifth CIS championship semifinal in the past 10 years and put an end to UBC’s 10-year quarter-final win streak.
Montreal will face the No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans in semifinal action on Saturday, while UBC will take on No. 8 Laval Rouge et Or in a consolation semifinal Friday.
Carabins outside hitter Vicky Savard of Ottawa led all players with 17 kills. Veteran Marie-Sophie Nadeau (Saint-Aime, Que.) had nine kills and added 11 digs, earning player of the match honours.
"I think UBC is probably the best, most stable team and program in the last decade, so it’s a huge win for us," said Carabins head coach Olivier Trudel. "We knew it was going to be hard, and it was, because the score meant nothing. We had to fight for every point and we knew that UBC would fight for it."
Third-year left side hitter Danielle Brisebois topped the Thunderbirds with 11 kills, seven digs and four blocks, while Lisa Barclay added eight kills, nine digs and two blocks.
"I’m very disappointed that we didn’t compete better," said UBC coach Doug Reimer. "I didn’t feel that we battled hard enough in enough aspects of the game. We had plenty of opportunities in the first two sets. I don’t think we showed everything we can."
Later Thursday, Trinity Western survived an upset scare, overcoming a two-set deficit to defeat Laval 24-26, 24-26, 25-15, 25-16, 15-8.
Ottawa native Sophie Carpentier and CIS all-Canadian Alicia Perrin of Creston, B.C., led the Spartans with 18 and 19 kills, respectively, while setter Vanessa Cornwall chipped in with 50 assists and 11 digs.
Fourth-year outside hitter Valerie Lemay of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., recorded a game-high 16 kills, while adding 13 digs and three aces for Laval.
Also, the Toronto Varsity Blues defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-0 in the third quarter-final, 25-10, 25-19, 25-6.
Fourth-year middle Bojana Radan of Windsor, Ont., led all players with 10 kills and 4.5 blocks, while both CIS all-Canadians Charlotte Sider of Ottawa and Caleigh Cruickshank of Etobicoke, Ont. added seven kills and seven digs on the night.
Setter Madelyn Mandryk of Lockport, Man., tallied 34 assists and seven digs, with fifth-year veteran Jennifer Neilson of Port Coquitlam, B.C. adding six kills, three blocks and two aces in the victory.
"One of the things we talked about was implementing our systems and managing ourselves well," said U of T coach Kristine Drakich. "I really think as a group, as a collective, we managed ourselves really really well. Each piece is important. It was great."
Ottawa met Alberta in Thursday’s other quarter-finals.<