The Brock women's volleyball team heads into the weekend perched atop the OUA West.
The Badgers sport a record of 6-1, and lead the league points per set. A number of their senior core players are also standouts who are among the OUA statistical leaders.
Left side hitter Laura Condotta leads the league with 3.75 kills per set, right side Darby Taylor is fourth in hitting percentage (.320) and third in blocks per set (1.13) and setter Emily Armstrong is third in assists per set (9.04).
However, the Badgers have a secret weapon in libero Alanna Norris, a senior Therapeutic Recreation student from Whitby who is unheralded when it comes to OUA stats.
"Alanna is an unsung hero. She plays a little bit of defence, and passes the ball for sure, but she is one of the best at what she does in the OUA, if not in Canada," said head coach Steve Delaney. "She is our passing champion."
Norris passes at a rate of 2.29, according to the team's in-house stat trackers, which is an elite passing rate.
The team has a friendly inter-team competition where they hand out the championship belt following each game for the player who leads the squad in passing stats.
"Since I started coaching the team last year she's lost it only once," added Delaney. "She's key to what we are accomplishing."
This is only her second season playing at the libero position, so it's still a component of her game that she's learning and developing each day at practice.
"My team has been super supportive of the transition, especially going from an attack player to a passing player, it's a big change in my game," said Norris. "I'll take whatever gets thrown my way and make the best of the situation. If by me stepping into this new role helps the team then I'm all for it."
Norris joined the Badgers in 2015 playing at the left side position, but sat out the 2017-18 season due to a significant knee injury.
Brock brought in a new head coach, Delaney, by the time Norris returned to the following season. He saw a talented playmaker in Norris.
"Coming off a knee injury and sitting out for a whole season was for sure tough, but it allowed me to view volleyball in a new perspective," said Norris. "I learned to read the ball better, especially when receiving the ball off serves. I think it also helps that I've always been an adaptable player, and so my passing style isn't very traditional, I just read the ball and create an angle that hits the target."
This weekend, Norris and the No. 7 Badgers play a road game in Waterloo versus the No. 9 Warriors (3-3) on Friday, Nov. 22 before hosting the Guelph Gryphons (3-3) on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m. Get your tickets here.
Women's Hockey - The Brock women's hockey team (3-6) celebrates their Jr. Badgers when they host the Waterloo Warriors at Seymour-Hannah Arena on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7:15 p.m. Get your tickets here. Doors open at 5 p.m. with activities including face painting, poster making and much more. Young fans are welcome to stick around at the end of the game to meet their favourite Badgers players. The Badgers play a road game versus the Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball - Midway through November the No. 10 Badgers are 6-1 and are first place in the OUA Central. On Tuesday, Brock earned their first U SPORTS Top 10 ranking since 2015 after a pair of back-to-back victories over the Lakehead Thunderwolves last weekend. The Badgers now play their next four games on the road beginning in Nipissing when they face the Lakers on Friday, Nov. 22 and Laurentian Voyageurs on Saturday, Nov. 23. Both games start at 6 p.m.
Men's Hockey - Brock, who recently had their long winning streak snapped by the visiting Guelph Gryphons last week, look to start a new one when they face a pair of schools in Toronto. The fourth-place Badgers (8-5) visit York on Friday, Nov. 22 and then Ryerson on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Men's Basketball - The Badgers (4-3) split a pair of home games against the No. 8 Lakehead Thunderwolves last weekend. They look to climb the OUA Central standings when they travel to take on two East division opponents versus Nipissing on Friday, Nov. 22 and No. 10-ranked Laurentian on Saturday, Nov. 23. Both games start at 8 p.m.
Men's Volleyball - The Brock men's volleyball team (2-5) has been on their fair share of close losses and will look to land in the win column when they travel to Waterloo on Friday, Nov. 22 and then host the No. 10 Guelph Gryphons on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. "We have to keep moving forward," said head coach Matt Ragogna. "We have two huge games this week and have to be ready to go."
