Mounties off to Cdn. championships
Published Wednesday March 11th, 2009
Mount A women's volleyball team has their eye on the top prize
SACKVILLE - The Mount Allison Mounties are headed back to the big stage.
The Mounties will compete in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association women's volleyball national championship, which begins tomorrow at Nipissing University in North Bay, Ont.
It's the second time in three years Mount Allison has won the Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association title and advanced to the Canadian championship. The Mounties went 0-3 at the 2007 national championship in North Vancouver, B.C.
"We were a much younger team then and it was a learning experience for us. It was kind of an introduction to the big leagues," said Mount Allison left side hitter Laurel Carlton, one of six players remaining from the 2007 Atlantic championship team.
"We went for the experience and we were kind of shell-shocked once we got there. It was a real-eye opener."
Two years later, the hopes are higher, the expectations bigger for the Mounties.
They finished second in the ACAA regular season at 14-4 and defeated the defending champion St. Thomas Tommies in the conference final, the same Tommies team that beat them in last year's final.
Mount Allison is seeded eighth in the eight-team tournament and will face top-seeded University of British Columbia Okanagan of Kelowna, B.C., in a quarter-final tomorrow.
B.C. champion Okanagan finished third at last year's Canadian championship.
The tournament also features No. 2 Red Deer College, No. 3 Vancouver Island University of Nanaimo, B.C., No. 4 Collége François-Xavier-Garneau of Quebec City, No. 5 Humber College of Toronto, No. 6 MacEwan College of Edmonton and No. 7 host Nipissing.
Semifinals follow Friday with the medal games set for Saturday.
Carlton, a first team conference all-star from Ottawa, feels the Mounties are much more prepared for the challenge they'll face in North Bay this time around.
"First and foremost, having success in this tournament is all about confidence, being aggressive on the court and that really affected us last time," said Carlton, 21, a fourth-year international relations student.
"This year we have a strong mix of veteran players with some really strong additions and there's a calm, but confident feeling with this group. We're playing with a bit of an edge now."
The Mount Allison lineup features fourth-year veterans Carlton, setter Lori Joyce, middle Sarah MacDonald and libero Laurie Marchbank.
ACAA rookie of the year Caila Henderson and fellow rookie Vanessa Gray, both outside hitters, have also been big contributors.
Joyce, Marchbank and Henderson were named to the second all-conference team.
Marchbank is unable to play in North Bay, but third-year player Lauren Hatch will take her place at libero.
"We're obviously underdogs going in against the top team in our first match and it will definitely be a test for us," said Mounties coach Andrew Kennedy.
"Okanagan has had a strong team the last two years, they're quite technically sound, but anything is possible in this tournament. There's not that much difference in the teams across the country. Some teams from the west are a little taller and a little faster, but that's all.
"We want to improve on our showing from last time and we feel we can do that."
Carlton, who will graduate this year, is one of six fourth-year players on the team. Win or lose in North Bay, she'll leave the squad with nothing but fond memories.
"This whole experience has been amazing. I don't think I'm going to remember much of my university time other than hotel rooms and spending all this time with the best friends anyone could ever ask for," she said. "The chemistry on this team is pretty special. We're just like a family."
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