A milestone year for the Brock Badgers women's volleyball team was celebrated by Ontario University Athletics (OUA).
The Badgers were named the Women's Team of the Year at the OUA Honour Awards Banquet at the Oakville Conference Centre in Oakville, Ont., on Wednesday, May 13.
"It's an honour to be selected as the OUA Women's Team of the Year as there are a lot of great teams that have accomplished fantastic things this season," said women's volleyball head coach Steve Delaney. "When I look at our success, I can say it took all 21 of our athletes, and I sincerely mean that. It didn't matter what role an athlete had; they became a star in that role, and sometimes those roles changed throughout the season."
The memorable season was highlighted by the first national medal in program history as they defeated the TWU Spartans 3-2 in five sets (25-17, 24-26, 24-26, 25-18, 15-11) in the U SPORTS bronze medal match. At the conclusion of the event, Mackenna Knox was recognized as a U SPORTS Championship All-Star, while Isabella Samadzadeh received the R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award.
"It was great to see athletes who might have been waiting for two or three years for their opportunity to step up and make the difference in the big moments for us," Delaney said. "The patience and the hardships they might have had over the past two or three years is what likely made them strong enough to get it done."
One athlete who embraced that opportunity was Daryan Chadwick, who stepped into a starting outside hitter role this season and earned Player of the Game honours at the Quigley Cup. Brock avenged their previous 2025 defeat to the McMaster Marauders in the OUA final with a 3-1 win (25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18) on March 6.
This provincial title was the fourth in program history and led to the team's fourth U SPORTS Championship appearance. The Badgers finished with the best record in the province with a 17-3 record, earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
Knox headlined the postseason honours with her first OUA First Team All-Star selection, while Emily Foest ended her Badgers career with an OUA Second Team All-Star nod, making the third time she was named an OUA all-star. Emma Baruchelli rounded out Brock's recognition and was named an OUA Third Team All-Star.
"I couldn't be more proud of this group," Delaney said. "I'm super excited that I get to work with most of them again next year."
This marks the first time a Badgers team has captured the Team of the Year award since the women's basketball team was recognized at the end of the 2019-20 season after winning an OUA championship and a U SPORTS silver medal.
