Western Canadians Provide Chance For A Turnaround
It has been three years since the Blazers Women's Volleyball team last captured gold at the Western Canadian Volleyball Championships and the current team hope that this weekend's tournament can create a foundation of confidence for the MCAC's second half for the young team.
Ten matches into the 2014-15 MCAC season and the Blazers have yet to celebrate a victory. Their only win this season came back on October 18th over the Fleming Knights of the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association while competing at the Wannamaker Invitational in Oakville.
"Even though we haven't been able to put a complete match together this season, we have a group with unbelievable chemistry", said fourth-year outside hitter Erin Blaine (pictured), "We are continuing to work hard to bring that off-court chemistry onto the court and sustain it for a full match."
The floor captain is the lone hold over from the team took home the banner at the 2011 Western Canadians hosted that year in Olds, Alberta, "Doing well this weekend can make a huge difference in our momentum leading into second semester," explained Blaine, "If we play like we have nothing to lose and give everything on the court we can use this tournament to foster team chemistry and be a leg ahead in the new year."
Last season in Saskatoon, the Blazers used a silver-medal performance to help bond a young team and push them into the second-half of the MCAC season with a sense of confidence and expectation. The 2013-14 team drew on that success as they put together their best performance of the season at the most opportune time; first with a regular season final match win over Red River and finally by fighting hard in the conference semi-finals against the defending champions to steal a set and nearly pull off the upset on home court.
The Blazers begin their 2014 Western Canadian Tournament against Millar College (SK) on Friday at 5pm followed by a late match against the defending champion, Saskatoon Amaruks. On Saturday morning, the Blazers will face local rivals, USB, before entering the playoff round on Saturday night.
On the men's side, CMU will challenge Millar (SK) and Moose Jaw on Friday and follow that with Saturday dates against Priarie Bible College (AB) and MCAC's Assiniboine Community College before beginning playoffs.
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