The University of Alberta Golden Bears and Trinity Western University Spartans have won the Canadian men’s and women’s university volleyball national championships respectively. On Sunday, the Golden Bears defeated the Spartans 25-22, 12-25, 26-24, 25-19 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the women’s championship game, the Spartans defeated the Mount Royal University Cougars 25-14, 14-25, 25-19, 25-20 in Calgary, Alberta.
In the Canadian USports National Men’s Volleyball Championship, the Golden Bears were led by outside hitter Jordan Canham of Avonmore, Ontario, who had a team-high 17 kills and 22 points in all. The Golden Bears opened the national men’s volleyball championship weekend from the Investors Group Athletics Centre in Winnipeg with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-20 win over Queen’s University in the quarterfinals, and a 25-16, 25-23, 10-25, 25-19 win over the University of Calgary Dinos in the semifinals. This was the Golden Bears ninth national championship in men’s volleyball as they previously won in 1981, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015.
In the Canadian USports National Women’s Volleyball Championship, the Spartans were led by Avery Heppell of Langley, British Columbia, who had 15.5 total points. The Spartans also beat the University of Calgary Dinos, 20-25, 25-16, 25-10, 25-21 in the quarterfinals, and the University of McGill Martlets 25-12, 25-19, 25-13 in the semifinals. This was the second Canadian USports National Women’s Volleyball Championship in the history of the Spartans program. They previously beat the University of Alberta Pandas three sets to two in 2015 in Toronto, Ontario.
