April 18, 2011 - Never-Say-Die Mount Royal Cougars takes CCAA Women's Volleyball National Championships

It was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish, but in the end it was Calgary’s Mount Royal University Cougars who were crowned champions at the 2011 women’s CCAA Championships in Saint John, New Brunswick. Following a gut-wrenching semi-final, the Cougars again went the distance against the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners in the final, winning 23-25, 25-20, 16-25, 26-24 and 15-11.

“The final was absolutely wicked,” said Pierre Nobert, CCAA’s national women’s volleyball convenor. “It ended up being the most exciting match of the tournament.”

The Cougars were in fine form coming in, having grabbed gold at the Alberta finals. That was no surprise, as they had been ranked among the top teams in the country all season.

They were seeded third in Saint John, which pitted them against the Humber College Hawks in the opening round. The Hawks were flying high too, having won their fourth consecutive Ontario championship. They were led by Landis Doyle, CCAA’s 2011 Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.

Both teams came out swinging, with Mount Royal taking the first two sets. Humber bounced back in the third, but the favourites stood tall in the fourth, wrapping it up 25-19.

The Cougars then battled Quebec City’s Francois-Xavier-Garneau Elans, RSEQ championships and medalists at the CCAA Championships the previous two years. The Elans had defeated the host Seawolves in the first round, but their match with the Cougars would prove to be more of a challenge.

“The second-round matches were just unbelievable,” said Nobert. “It was the best semi-final Friday I’d seen in two years.” The Elans weren’t going down without a fight, but go down they did, losing 25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 25-19 and 18-16.

As for the VIU Mariners, they came to New Brunswick as wildcards after losing to the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat, the defending CCAA champions, in the BCCAA final. The Mariners defeated the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves in the first round, then found themselves facing those same Heat in the semi-finals.

It was a cakewalk at first, UBCO taking the first two sets by identical 25-17 scores. But it was far from over, the Mariners taking the third game 26-24 and the fourth 25-20. They held fast in the tiebreaker, winning 15-11. “The game’s results really showed the parity among B.C.’s top teams,” said Nobert.

The final started slowly, with both teams performing cautiously. Neither team was able to assume any kind of lead, and observers were quick to predict the match would go to the full five sets. They traded sets before the Mariners took the third to assume command. It was match point, 24-23, when the referee overruled a linesperson to extend it. “The referee made the right call,” Nobert later confirmed.

That gave the Cougars new life, and they took full advantage, taking the next two points to win that game before cruising in the tiebreaker. Left-side Andrea Price was named Tournament MVP, middle July Pasleka was named to the First Team All-Star and setter Mackenzie Allen to the second.

All in all, it was a rousing weekend, with Mount Royal a deserving champion.


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