Humber’s women’s volleyball team is now 15-0 through the 2023-24 season.
The women played a doubleheader over the weekend against Boreal on Saturday and Cambrian on Sunday. The Hawks — ranked third in Canada by the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association — came into Saturday’s game on top of their OCAA division against the last-place Boreal Vipers.
With great team rotation, the women dominated in each set to come away with a comfortable three-set to zero victory.
Head coach Chris Wilkins said this is what he expected from the team.
“We set a standard that we wanted to be at,” he said.
“If Boreal raises their level and gives us a game, that’s great,” Wilkins said. “If not, we’ll maintain our standard and continue to work on what we’re doing. And they did that.”
Sunday’s game against Cambrian Golden Shields was more of the same for the Hawks.
The women started strong and maintained their level of play to take another three sets to zero win. They still have yet to drop a set in the new year.
Wilkins said the team’s strength comes from their ability to play up and down the lineup.
“I keep saying it, it’s our depth,” he said.
“Our number 7 through to 14 can dominate just like our 1 through 6,” Wilkins said. “Just the consistency and leadership we have is unreal.”
Leadership is a quality every team requires to be great, and one who stands out is third-year setter Sydney Ferguson.
Ferguson won the Humber Athletics leadership award in 2023. She said leadership is something she focuses on, whether she’s on or off the court.
“Having someone to lead our girls and get our focus right is really important for our team,” she said.
“I really tried all year to keep our team focused and be a good leader,” Ferguson said. “Even when things weren’t going well in games, just really trying to keep everyone going forward.”
The team remains in first place in the OCAA standings after the weekend, and with only three games remaining before the playoffs, the team is looking nothing short of brilliant.
Wilkins said his team has its eyes on a very tough achievement, a back-to-back OCAA championship.
“Anything short of a title, we won’t be happy,” Wilkins said.
The team’s next game is Jan. 24 against the 4-10 Sheridan Bruins.