Volleyball
The Ooks volleyball team started the CCAA National championship this past Thursday. The CCAA Championships is where the best teams in the country that are below the U-sports play and compete to see who is the best in the country. NAIT started their championship run against the Providence Pilots. The Ooks began the game by dropping the two first sets, putting them in danger of being eliminated. That adversity was just what they needed, as they stormed back to win the next two sets 25-22 and 25-18. That took the game to a fifth set to decide a winner.
The Ooks continued their momentum into the fifth set and finished off the reverse sweep, winning 15-8 and advancing to the semi-finals. In the semis, the Ooks faced last year’s silver medalists the Humber Hawks. The match started with the Ooks firing on all cylinders, winning the first two sets 25-16 and 25-16. But the Hawks were not going out easy. They started to mount their comeback in the third set with a 25-20 victory. Their momentum continued into the fourth set with Hawks winning 25-19.
The Ooks would see another game go into a fifth and deciding set. Once more the Ooks came out on top, winning 16-14 and booking a trip to their first ever CCAA National Championship final.
In the final, the Ooks faced Les Titans de Limoilou and it was a breeze compared to their two other matchups. The Ooks won in straight sets 25-18, 25-22 and 25-22 to cap off an amazing season and their first-ever CCAA National championship in the school’s history.
Hockey
The Ooks women’s hockey team started the ACAC Finals against Lakeland College. The series began Friday night when the Ooks went on the road. They took care of business, winning 3-1 after scoring the first 3 goals and holding on to take a 1-0 series lead. Saturday saw the Ooks back at NAIT with a chance to take a decisive two games to zero lead in the best-of-five series. The Ooks won 3-2, and now have 3 chances to finish the series if needed. They get their first shot on Friday away at Lakeland.
