British Columbia universities won the Canadian University Sport national championships in men’s and women’s volleyball on Sunday. In the 2023 USport championship final in women’s volleyball, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds defeated the Trinity Western University Spartans 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12 from Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. In the 2023 USport championship final in men’s volleyball, the Trinity Western University Spartans defeated the University of Sherbrooke Vert et Or 25-16, 25-20-25-15 at Burridge Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ontario.
In the women’s volleyball final, outside hitter Elise Petit led the Thunderbirds 20 kills, 13 digs, and 22.5 points. Setter Kayla Oxland of Vancouver, British Columbia led the Thunderbirds with two aces. Two more Thunderbirds reached double figures in points. Outside hitter Cara Kovacs of Vancouver had 20 points and middle hitter Jayde Robertsen of Delta, British Columbia had 12.5 points.
The Thunderbirds beat Brock University 18-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-20 in the quarterfinal on Friday, and then the University of Manitoba 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-14 in the semifinal on Saturday. This is the 13th national championship for the University of British Columbia in women’s volleyball. They previously won in 1973, 1974, 1977, 1978, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, and 2019.
In the men’s volleyball final, outside hitter Jesse Elser of Calgary, Alberta led the Spartans with 17 points, seven service aces and five digs. He also tied with outside hitter Brodie Hofer of Langley, British Columbia as the Spartans leader in kills with nine. Hofer was the only other Spartans player to reach double digits in points as he had 12.
The Spartans beat the University of Montreal 26-24, 25-19, 29-27 in the quarterfinals on Friday, and then McMaster University 25-27, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21 in the semifinals on Saturday. This is the seventh national championship for the Trinity Western University Spartans in men’s volleyball. They previously won in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2019.
