Photo by Rob Weitzel - www.sportsshooter.ca

REGINA (CIS) – The University of Manitoba Bisons denied the University of British Columbia’s attempt at history by defeating the Thunderbirds in straight sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-20) to capture the 2014 CIS women`s volleyball championship on Sunday at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport.

UBC entered the gold-medal final having won the last six national titles, tied with Winnipeg and Alberta for the longest streak in CIS women’s volleyball annals. T-Birds were the top seed going into this weekend’s tournament after sweeping Manitoba in straight sets in last week’s Canada West final.

Instead, it was the Bisons who made some history of their own. With the upset win, they claimed their first CIS banner since 2002 and their seventh overall, moving in a tie for second place all-time (with Winnipeg and Alberta), three behind UBC.

Manitoba’s Rachel Cockrell was named the championship MVP after registering a match-high 18 kills on 34 attempts in the final with just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. Cockrell was also in on five blocks for the Bisons.

Taylor Pischke finished with six kills and six digs for the new champs, Brittany Habing recorded a match-high 28 assists to go along with five blocks, while Emily Erickson and Jordana Milne posted six blocks apiece. Pischke and Habing accompanied Cockrell on the tournament all-star team.

UBC was led by CIS player of the year Lisa Barclay, who had 13 kills and nine digs in a losing cause. Abbey Keeping also had double-digit kills with 10, while Kirsty Setterlund chipped in with 27 assists and four digs. Barclay, the championship MVP in both 2012 and 2013, was once again voted to the all-tourney team, along with Keeping.

In the opening set, the Thunderbirds jumped out to a 6-2 lead early prompting a timeout by Manitoba. The Bisons regrouped, rallying to score five of the next six points to tie the set at 7 and force the T-Birds to call a timeout of their own. The set was hard-fought to the technical, where UBC held a 16-14 lead. The battle continued, as the teams found themselves locked again, this time at 20. A Cockrell kill set the Bisons up at set-point, then back-to-back digs from Pischke led to another kill from Cockrell, and Manitoba took the first frame 25-22.

UBC once again started strong in the second and was up 6-2 when Manitoba called timeout. The Bisons rallied again, enough so to take a 16-12 lead at the technical. Coming out of the break, UBC scored four straight points to tie it at 16. Neither team could gain an edge, as the set was tied at every point from 16 through 22. A kill and pair of blocks from Cockrell spurred the Bisons to take three straight points and close the period, giving them a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third, the Bisons broke an early 4-4 and did not surrender the lead for the rest of the set. Two kills from Cockrell and a pair of service aces from Mariel Garcia set up championship point, and Pischke hammered a kill down the line to send the Manitoba bench into a frenzy.

STAT LEADERS

Manitoba
Kills: Rachel Cockrell (18), Taylor Pischke (6)
Points: Rachel Cockrell (22), Jordana Milne (9)
Blocks: Jordana Milne (0,6), Emily Erickson (0,6)
Digs: Caleigh Dobie (10)
Service aces: Mariel Garcia (2)

Player of the match: Rachel Cockrell

UBC
Kills: Lisa Barclay (13), Abbey Keeping (10)
Points: Lisa Barclay (14), Abbey Keeping (13)
Blocks: Mariah Bruinsma (2,3)
Digs: Juliana Kaufmanis (10), Lisa Barclay (9)
Service aces: Abbey Keeping (3)

Player of the match: Kirsty Setterlund

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS

CIS Championship MVP – Rachel Cockrell, Manitoba

R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award – Katherine Ryan, Dalhousie

All-Star Team

Lisa Barclay, UBC
Rachel Cockrell, Manitoba
Esther Gilbert, Laval
Brittany Habing, Manitoba
Abbey Keeping, UBC
Desiree Nouwen, Dalhousie
Taylor Pischke, Manitoba

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times CENTRAL TIME)

Friday, February 28
13:00 Quarter-final #1: Dalhousie 3, Trinity Western 1 (25-21, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23)
15:00 Quarter-final #2: Manitoba 3, Ottawa 0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-16)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: UBC 3, Regina 1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-12, 25-16)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: Laval 3, McMaster 0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-19)

Saturday, March 1
13:00 Consolation #1: Trinity Western 3, Ottawa 0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-15)
15:00 Consolation #2: Regina 3, McMaster 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-15)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Manitoba 3 Dalhousie 0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-21)
20:00 Semifinal #2: UBC 3, Laval 1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-21, 25-18)

Sunday, March 2
13:00 5th place: Trinity Western 3, Regina 2 (22-25, 25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 15-13)
15:00 Bronze medal: Laval 3, Dalhousie 1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-15)
18:00 Championship final: Manitoba 3, UBC 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-20)

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, 11,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 55 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:

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