OVA News » University of Toronto Varsity Blues

Blues Complete Weekend Sweep

laura — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:35:59 +0000

The Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team notched their eighth win of the season with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 25-16) victory over the Western Mustangs on Saturday, January 7 in London, Ont.

“Today we demonstrated outstanding focus and composure on the court one play at a time,” said Varsity Blues head coach Kristine Drakich. “Each player is committed to our goals and as a result we are competing and getting better every day. Our success this weekend was a results of the collective hard work of the team.”

Second-year rightside hitter and Ottawa native Charlotte Sider once again led the Blues, tallying a game-high 16 kills and adding 10 digs on the night. Rookie Denise Wooding of North Vancouver, B.C., had 11 kills and 11 digs, while setter Malena Rapaport (Vancouver) added 35 assists and 10 digs in the win.

The first and second sets were see-saw battles, both ending in 25-23 favours for Toronto. The third set started the same way, with U of T holding an 8-7 lead early on; however Western rallied and consistently held a four-point lead before closing with a 25-20 advantage. The Blues went onto regain their composure and handily take the fourth to secure the win.

The victory leaves the Blues in second place with an 8-3 record, while the Mustangs drop to 6-4 and are in a three-way tie for fifth in the OUA.

Toronto returns to the court next Sunday, January 15 as they head to Ryerson to take on the Rams. Opening serve is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Story submitted by the Varsity Blues | VarsityBlues.ca

Queens Heads to Final Four

xenie — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:00:47 +0000

Queens University punched in its ticket to this weekend’s conference Final Four men’s volleyball tournament eliminating the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 25-15, 25-14, 27-25 on Friday night in OUA Conference quarterfinal action.

The Gaels, vying for their third Ontario university title in five years, were led by Joren Zeeman with 15 points, one of four players on the team to score in double digits. Mitchell Woodside and Adam Palmer had eight points each for Toronto.

McMaster has a bye to the Final Four as the top regular season team.

Varsity Blues OUA Champions

xenie — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:00:41 +0000

University of Toronto Varsity Blues

In the 2007-2008 OUA championship final it was the McMaster Marauders defeating the Varsity Blues at the University of Toronto. The Blues returned the favour Saturday night at McMaster’s Burridge Gym, sweeping the OUA final 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19). They are heading west to the University of Alberta in Edmonton to compete for the CIS Championships to be held from Friday, March 5 to Sunday, March 7.

- Follow the Blues… http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball
- TV: Bronze-medal game and final on Shaw (local) and Star Choice (across Canada)
- Webcast (SSN Canada): All games (main bracket & consolation)
- Live stats: Available on website
- Berths (8 teams): Host (Alberta), CWUAA (3), QSSF (2), OUA (1), AUS (1)

Blues Fall to Marauders

xenie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:00:14 +0000

Fifth-year rightside hitter Kristina Valjas recorded a game-high 20 kills as the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team fell 3-2 to the McMaster Marauders in their third annual Cheer Blue, Think Pink game on Sunday, February 7 at Toronto’s Athletic Centre Sports Gym.

Their first loss in eight games, the Blues drop to 12-5 and are tied with the Queen’s Gaels for the top spot in the OUA East division with a game in hand. The Marauders improve to 16-2 and remain in first place in the West.

Sporting a pink jersey in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Ontario Chapter, Valjas was on fire all day and was named the Varsity Blues player of the game as she added 11 digs, four blocks and one serving ace to her 22-kill performance.

Get the full story varsityblues.ca

Pepperdine Tops at McDonalds

xenie — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:24:55 +0000

In an “All Ontario” battle, the McMaster Marauders downed the University of Toronto Varsity Blues 3-1 to finish seventh at the 3rd Annual McDonalds International Men’s Volleyball Tournament, held at Thompson Rivers University, BC, this past weekend. The scores were 25-21,25-12,22-25,25-21. The Marauders, ranked fifth in the CIS national rankings wind up at 1 and 2 for the tournament. The Varsity Blues were winless in three starts.

For the second time in three years, the Pepperdine University Wave of California are the champions. The Wave downed the Dalhousie Tigers of Halifax, Nova Scotia 3-0 to take the 2010 title. The scores were 25-15,25-23,25-21.

The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack captured the bronze medal. The WolfPack beat the Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 (30-28,25-22,17-25,19-25,15-12).

Get all the stories of the tournament

Stanko Sport Hall of Fame Inductee

xenie — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:01:26 +0000

Executive Director of the Ontario Volleyball Association, Orest Stanko was inducted into The University of Toronto Sport Hall of Fame on June 24, 2009. In his 23 seasons as the head coach of the U of T’s Varsity Blues men’s volleyball team, Orest Stanko became the winingest coach in OUA men’s volleyball history.

He guided the Varsity Blues to 14 division championships and a record 13 OUA championships, including five in a row (1991-95), and was a seven-time OUA coach of the year.

In total, Orest led the U of T men’s volleyball team to 14 national championship appearances, with their best finish coming when they earned the CIAU silver medal in 1991.

Orest produced 63 OUA all-stars and 17 all-Canadians, and has seen seven players participate with the Canadian national team. He received U of T’s Thomas R. Loudon Award in 2002 for outstanding service in the advancement of athletics.

In addition to his significant contribution to the Varsity Blues, Orest advanced the sport of volleyball through his roles as tournament director on Volleyball Canada’s national beach tour (1991-2002) and as a member of the Volleyball Canada beach high performance committee (2003-present).

Orest coached the Ontario men’s Canada Games team in 1987 and 1989; over the past 25 years he has coached several National Beach Volleyball Champions; and he was head coach of Canada’s National Beach Volleyball team at the 1997 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where the Canadian men’s team of Conrad Leinemann and Jody Holden won a gold medal. In 2003, Orest received the Syl Apps Special Achievement Award for recognition of outstanding service to OFSAA and school sport.

Orest is by far the most successful and important men’s volleyball coach at U of T by making the Blues a powerhouse in the OUA and CIS.

Orest Stanko
7T6 MA Political Economy
Builder – Volleyball