This weekend, both the Women’s and Men’s Volleyball teams took on the Western Mustangs in another installment of a historical rivalry.
Punctuating the matchup was the senior night hosted on Saturday, Feb. 1, celebrating the eight total graduating players on both teams.
Women’s Volleyball took to the court first on Jan. 31, dominating early with a decisive 25-15 first set win. They would quickly follow up with a 25-18 second set, and 25-22 final set to sweep the Mustangs in straight sets.
The Gaels led every major category, led largely by a senior core consisting of Aimée Lemire, ConEd ’25, Mary Stewart, ConEd ’25, Amanda Siksna, ConEd ’25, Charley Baker, ArtSci ’25, and Hannah Duchesneau, ArtSci ’25.
The next day, they stumbled out of the gates, losing the first set 19-25, before besting Western in three consecutive closely contested sets, 25-22, 25-23, and 25-21.
“The biggest thing was that we stuck together, and we didn’t let up at all,” Siksna said in an interview with The Journal.
A key part of the group has been their ability to remain calm and composed under pressure, in large part due to the team’s experience playing together.
“I tear up talking about it, but we’ve known each other for such a long time, […] you go through life together,” Siksna said. “We always call ourselves like a sisterhood of QWVB, and I think that really shows whether you’re on or off the court.”
Their bond developed throughout the years has also touched those new to the program, including rookie Head Coach Shanice Marcelle.
“Coming into this program as a new coach, it can be difficult, but they did a wonderful job of welcoming me and making me feel like I was included,” Marcelle said.
Men’s Volleyball started their first match slow, dropping the first set 22-25. However, flipping the second set 25-22 would break the Mustang’s spirit as the Gaels’ sets became bigger blowouts, 25-21 and 25-16.
Carrying their momentum into Saturday, alongside the backing of a senior night crowd, their second game wasn’t particularly close, winning in straight sets, 25-21, 25-17, and 25-20.
Like the Women, the Men’s team success was greatly backed by a strong performance from a senior core, Lachlan McBride, Law ’25, Zig Licis, Sci ’25, and Dax Tompkins, ArtSci ’25.
“All three of them are guys who bought into a culture and an attitude of championship success that we wanted to create here,” Men’s Volleyball Head Coach Gabriel deGroot said in an interview with The Journal.
Culture is a word that’s echoed throughout both programs, and entrenched trust and community within the team.
“I think just having like a family behind you to kind of support you through all the ups and downs and to be able to go out and play free with all of them is a blessing,” McBride said.
Both teams leave the weekend holding top 10 rankings in the national, Women’s Volleyball second, and Men’s Volleyball sixth.
Firmly establishing the teams as championship contenders, they will look to use the next two weeks as a tune-up for the OUA playoffs starting Feb. 22.
You can watch both teams as the travel to Hamilton to take on the McMaster Marauders next weekend on OUA.tv.
Tags
Aimée Lemire, Amanda Siksna, Charley Baker, Gaels, Hannah Duchesneau, Mary Stewart, Senior Night, Volleyball
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