The excitement in the building blew the roof off once players from the Humber women’s volleyball bench sprinted, crashing onto the floor in a group huddle, with head coach Chris Wilkins wiping a tear from his eye and taking the moment in.
Hannah Manners, an outside hitter for Humber volleyball, said the Hawks were fired up from the beginning.
“It was honestly a great game,” Manners said. “We had our ups and downs, but we really closed out when we needed to and win it when it mattered the most,” she said.
The Humber women’s volleyball team captured its fourth gold medal in a row at the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) finals against the St. Clair Saints on Feb. 22 at home in Etobicoke. The team ranked third in the country before the OCAA finals, racking up a perfect 18-0 in the regular season.
It's also Humber's 19th provincial gold medal when they beat St. Clair Saints three sets to one.
Manners, named the OCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP), said she was extremely grateful for the recognition.
“It could’ve honestly been anyone on my team,” she said.
The award recognizes the player who was the most consistent throughout the entire tournament.
The Hawks started strong in the first set as they fed off the highly energetic home crowd. Hannah Manners, who got 12 kills by the end of the night, gave Humber an eight-point lead with a score of 22-14.
Averi Bondar served an ace for the set point, sealing the first set 25-19.
To start the second, St. Clair got on the board first.
Humber tried to gain momentum during the following plays, but the Saints proved to be tenacious and provided continuous battle.
With a score of 20-16, the Hawks fought hard to gain another six, but they failed. The Green-and-Gold won the set 25-22, evening out the match one apiece.
Humber found its rhythm again with a strong start to the third.
Leading by 5-2, Amy Connelly, a second-year middle blocker for Humber sends a smashing hit over the net to grab another point.
The Saints managed to find their way back into the game, but the Hawks proved to be too much. After a block from Humber women’s volleyball players Amanda Larsen and Kennedy Williscroft, the Hawks dominated the third 25-15.
After a switch of sides to start the fourth, the pressure was palpable on both ends.
With several service errors at the start, the board tallied to a tight score of 8-8, but Humber was not deterred.
The Hawks battled right to the end and soared to a lead of 24-16, just one point away from winning their 19th provincial gold in its program’s history.
Katlin Labelle, a second-year outside hitter for the Hawks, was tasked with the final play.
Swinging it up and over, the ball grazed the net making it difficult for St. Clair to come up with a dig, hitting the floor instead.
The Navy-and-Gold won the set 25-16, securing that fourth gold medal in a row.
In a post-game interview, Chris Wilkins, head coach of the Humber women’s volleyball team, said he was speechless after the games' result.
“I’ve won a lot of championships, but this one, this one’s going to mean a lot for a long time,” Wilkins said.
Also the recipient of OCAA Coach of the Year, Wilkins credited the girls and said he’s proud of their efforts to get to this point.
“This is a group of girls who are so talented, we had so many girls that came from other programs, other things, and were all-stars, and really came in to sacrifice being a part of something special,” Wilkins said.
He said the goal leading up to next season is to get to a championship again and continue to put in the work to stay on top.
