The 2018 belairdirect OCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships wrapped up its second day as the second semifinal match featured another OCAA West showdown. This time, it was between the third seeded St. Clair Saints and the top seeded Humber Hawks.
St. Clair made a statement in its quarterfinal match, beating the host Centennial Colts in four sets (25-21, 25-17, 24-26, 26-24) as they hit 18 aces, nine of them coming from Kimberley Quintanilla, who also led the team with 21 assists and 13 points.
For Humber, they had to survive a huge scare from the Mohawk Mountaineers as they were four points away from being eliminated in straight sets and having their 125 game winning streak snapped.
The Hawks, however, scored five unanswered to take the third set and eventually came all the way back from down two sets to beat the Mountaineers in five sets (23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-14, 15-9). Breanna Golding was spectacular for Humber as she scored a game high 24 points on 23 kills and was named Player of the Game for the Hawks in the victory.
This game marked the first in the second day of action that it did not end in straight sets. It wouldn't be any more different, however, as Humber prevailed over St. Clair in four sets (25-19, 18-25, 25-16, 25-23) at the Athletic and Wellness Centre, where it was jammed with Hawks and Saints supporters.
The Hawks had the edge over the Saints in kills (38-28), assists (32-27), and aces (10-9) while St. Clair had the advantage in digs (42-36).
Nicole Collard was named Player of the Game for Humber after scoring 13 points on a team high five aces and game high three blocks.
Breanna Golding led all scorers with 14 points on a game high 12 kills while Celine Blanchette dished out a team high 20 assists and Devan O’Connor finished with nine digs.
Julie Ann Milling finished with a game high 17 digs and was named Player of the Game for the Saints. Taylor Fitzgerald led St. Clair with 11 points on a game high six aces while Kimberley Quintanilla dished out a game high 23 assists.
With the win, Humber advances to the gold medal game against the Niagara Knights for a chance to advance to nationals. Meanwhile, St. Clair faces off against the Sheridan Bruins for the bronze medal.
Service errors were the story of the first set as there were a combined 13 of them from both teams. St. Clair held a 16-14 lead when Collard’s service game sparked Humber to seven straight points as she got three aces during that run. A kill from Jasmine Lougheed capped off four straight points from Humber as they took the first set, 25-19.
The Hawks took an early 5-2 lead but St. Clair came back to tie the second set at eight and took the lead for good after a kill from Fitzgerald.
After a kill from Brynne Spence-Coleman cut the Saints lead to 19-17, St. Clair ended the set on a 6-1 run to tie the match and take the second set, 25-18, after a kill from Quintanilla.
Both teams split the first six points of the third set before Humber blew the set open on a 19-8 run. Golding and Spence-Coleman each had three kills during the set as Humber took the third set, 25-16.
The Hawks looked to put away the Saints away early in the fourth set as they went on an 8-4 start, forcing a St. Clair timeout. But the pesky Saints would not go down quietly as they came roaring back to take an 18-17 lead after a kill from Te-Anna Stephenson.
Golding, Spence-Coleman and Stephenson each had four kills during this set alone. A block from Collard gave the Hawks two chances at match point and after a kill from Stephenson, ended the fourth set and the match at 25-23 as Quintanilla hit the net on her serve.