The Golden Girls of Malaspina
by Matt Carter
The Malaspina Mariners women’s volleyball team capped off an incredible season by winning the 2008 CCAA National Championship at Mount Royal College in March. This was the first national title for the women’s volleyball team, and Malaspina’s first national title since the women’s basketball team brought home the hardware in 1998. The women’s volleyball team has been a powerhouse for Malaspina Athletics over recent years. Before winning gold in 2008, the team won bronze at the 2007 and 2006 national championships to go with second-place finishes in 2002-2004 and 2000. The program can also boast eleven BCCAA provincial championships over the last thirteen years. In terms of wins and losses, it was a perfect season. The Mariners ran off 23 consecutive wins to complete an undefeated regular season, and roared through the provincial and national championships without losing a single game. After defeating UBC Okanagan to capture the provincial title, the team earned victories over St. Thomas University and again over UBC Okanagan in the preliminary rounds of the national championship. In the title game, the Mariners defeated the host Mount Royal Cougars 25-18, 25-9, 30-28. Malaspina’s Ashley Greig was named Tournament MVP, while Kylie Crick was named to the 1st All-Star Team and Leigh Dreher to the The Mariners were coached by three Malaspina alumni: head coach Shane Hyde (BA ’06) and assistants Danielle Hyde (Rec and Sport Management ’01, BTM ’03) and Rob Barcelos (PE Dipl ’03, Rec and mariner Britt grydeland: serving it right
Sport Management ’04, BTM – Rec ’06).
photos: malaspina Athletics
Mariners Best in British Columbia
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J o u r n e y | AT H l e T i C s
Malaspina’s athletics department is the top program in B.C. for 2007-08 after the Mariners were co-awarded the British Columbia Colleges’ Athletic Association (BCCAA) Aggregate Trophy. With a combined score of 56 points across five sports, the Mariners tied Douglas College and will share the honour this year. This is the second consecutive year and sixth time overall that Mariner Athletics has taken the top honour. The Mariners were led by the women’s volleyball team, which went undefeated and captured the first national title for the Malaspina in ten years. Other highlights included a provincial silver medal for the men’s volleyball team, three silver medals in badminton at the provincials, berths in the provincial tournaments for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams, and a seventh place finish for the golf team at the national championships. Malaspina now VIU competes in badminton, basketball, golf, soccer, and volleyball. Visit www.gomariners.ca for more information.
photo: sergei Belski
2nd All-Star Team.