Four Straight OUA Title for Varsity Blues

The tenth-ranked Gryphons' only lead of the opening set came at 2-0, as U of T 's Carrie Schram (London, ON) reeled off seven first set kills to pace the Varsity Blues to the early lead.

Guelph responded with a great effort in the second set, and had a 24-22 advantage before the Varsity Blues came to life. U of T, who entered the weekend ranked sixth in the nation, got back-to-back kills from OUA East rookie of the year Asya Danilova (St. Petersburg, Russia) and fought off a pair of Guelph set points to earn the 28-26 victory.

In the third, the Varsity Blues jumped out to a quick 7-2 advantage and never looked back, much to the delight of the second straight near-sellout crowd at the U of T Athletic Centre.

Danilova, who earned player of the game honours and was named a tournament all-star, led all players with 16 kills. Schram added 14 kills, while Elodie Li Yuk Lo (Toronto, ON), who was also a tournament all-star, contributed 17 digs. Varsity Blues setter and team captain Katie Bickerton (Surrey, BC) was named the event's most valuable player for the second straight year.

Tournament all-star Lisa Cosentino (Hamilton, ON) led Guelph with eight kills, while teammate Nina teBoekhorst (Dundas, ON) also earned all-star honours for the Gryphons.

In the bronze medal match, the Queen's Golden Gaels bounced back from their 3-0 semifinal loss to Guelph on Friday, with a hard-fought 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) sweep of the McMaster Marauders.

The first two sets were tight from start to finish, with the Marauders missing the jump they exhibited in yesterday's semifinal versus U of T. In the third, the Golden Gaels were in command from the opening serve and cruised to the OUA podium.

Queen's was led by a great all-around effort from Jacqueline Fulham, (St. Mary's, ON) who had a match-high 13 kills and was named to the tournament all-star team. Lisa Hiller (Arnprior, ON) added 11 kills and three blocks for the Golden Gaels.

Arin Bush (Sandford, ON) led McMaster with nine kills. Jen Estabrooks chipped in with eight kills and earned tournament all-star honours for the Marauders.

The OUA champion Varsity Blues will now prepare for the 2004 CIS Championship next weekend at the University of Saskatchewan. The event runs from March 4 - 6 in Saskatoon.

OUA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP @ U of T

DAY 1 - Friday, February 27, 2004 Semifinal #1: Toronto Varsity Blues 3, McMaster Marauders 2 (18-25, 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 15-6) Semifinal #2: Guelph Gryphons 3, Queen's Golden Gaels 0 (27-25, 27-25, 25-14)

DAY 1 - Saturday, February 28, 2004 Championship Final: Toronto Varsity Blues 3, Guelph Gryphons 0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-18) Bronze: Queen's Golden Gaels 3, McMaster Marauders 0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17)

TOURNAMENT ALL-STARS Katie Bickerton, Toronto - MVP Elodie Li Yuk Lo, Toronto Asya Danilova, Toronto Lisa Cosentino, Guelph Nina teBoekhorst, Guelph Jacqueline Fulham, Queen's Jen Estabrooks, McMaster

Source: Adrian Bradbury, Sports Information Co