The Brock Badgers are headed to the U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Championship as the No. 3 seed.
Hosted at the Langley Events Centre in Langley Township, B.C., the three-day tournament begins Friday, March 13, with the consolation final and medal matches set for Sunday, March 15.
In program history, the Badgers have attended three national championships, with their best finish of sixth coming during the 2021-22 season.
A 17-3 regular season record saw the Badgers enter the OUA playoffs as the No. 1 seed, earning home-court advantage throughout the postseason.
After a 3-0 sweep of the Ottawa Gee-Gees in the quarterfinals, the Badgers were set for a semifinal matchup with the Queen's Gaels. The contest ended in four sets as the Badgers defeated the Gaels for the third time this season. In a rematch of last year's championship match, Brock avenged that defeat with a 3-1 victory over the McMaster Marauders to win its fourth Quigley Cup in program history.
To begin the tournament on Friday, the No. 3 seed Badgers will take on the No. 6 seed SMU Huskies in a quarterfinal matchup at 5 p.m. Eastern. The game can be seen on the CBC Sports YouTube channel and on CBC Gem.
SEEDING
1. Alberta Pandas (Canada West (CW) champions, 18-2 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)
2. Sherbrooke Vert et Or (Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RESQ) champions, 20-1, 4-1)
3. Brock Badgers (Ontario University Athletics (OUA) champions, 17-3, 3-0)
4. Trinity Western Spartans (CW silver medalists/hosts, 15-5, 3-1)
5. UBC Thunderbirds (CW bronze medalists, 17-3, 3-1)
6. SMU Huskies (Atlantic University Sport (AUS) champions: 10-10, 4-0)
7. TRU Wolfpack (CW fourth place/host berth, 14-6, 2-3)
8. Montreal Carabins (RESQ finalists, 13-8, 2-3)
In women's volleyball, the eight participating teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be seeded no lower than No. 6, and that first-round conference matchups be avoided for the conference finalists.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)
Friday, March 13
3 p.m.: Quarterfinal #1 — No. 7 TRU vs. No. 2 Sherbrooke
5 p.m.: Quarterfinal #2 — No. 6 SMU vs. No. 3 Brock
9 p.m.: Quarterfinal #3 — No. 5 UBC at No. 4 TWU
11 p.m.: Quarterfinal #4 — No. 8 Montreal vs No. 1 Alberta
Saturday, March 14
3 p.m.: Consolation Semifinal #1 — Loser Quarterfinal No. 1 vs. Loser Quarterfinal No. 2
5 p.m.: Consolation Semifinal #2 — Loser Quarterfinal #3 vs. Loser Quarterfinal #4
9 p.m.: Semifinal #1 — Winner Quarterfinal #3 vs. Winner Quarterfinal #4
11 p.m.: Semifinal #2 — Winner Quarterfinal #1 vs. Winner Quarterfinal #2
Note that, in a departure from usual U SPORTS practice, the winners of the late quarterfinals on Friday will play at 6 p.m. on Saturday, with the winners of the first two quarterfinals following.
Sunday, March 15
4 p.m.: Fifth-Place Match
6 p.m.: Bronze Medal Match
9 p.m.: Gold Medal Match
