U Sports women's volleyball championship

U Sports women's volleyball championship

Current season, competition or edition: 2025 U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship
Sport	Indoor volleyball
Founded	1971;53 years ago (1971)
First season	1971
Organising body	U Sports
No. of teams	8
Country	Canada
Most recent champion(s)	UBC Thunderbirds (14th title)
Most titles	UBC Thunderbirds (14)
Official website	usports.ca/en/sports/volleyball/f

The U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship is a Canadian university volleyball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports conferences. ^[1] The championship trophy, first awarded in 1977, features a two-wheeled oxcart, symbolizing the pioneer era on the Red River in Manitoba. ^[2] The 2024 champions are the UBC Thunderbirds who have also won the most championships with a total of 14, including six in a row from 2008 to 2013. ^{[2] [3]}

History

The championship trophy awarded to the gold medalists of the tournament.

While intercollegiate volleyball had been played in Canada since 1947, championships had been played for conference titles only. ^[4] In 1969, the Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU) was formed (a precursor to today's U Sports organization) to provide a regulatory body for national competition. ^[4] For the 1969–1970 season, the Calgary Dinos were named the first unofficial champions. ^[2] The first official champions were the Manitoba Bisonettes, who were crowned following the 1970–1971 season after they defeated the Toronto Varsity Blues in four sets. ^{[2] [5]} While full historical championship results are not readily available, the championship was initially a round-robin tournament where the teams with the best records would then play for the championship. This was changed for the 1983 championship when the tournament changed to single-elimination. ^[6] The 2020 and 2021 championship tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^{[7] [8]}

Format

The championship currently consists of an eight-team tournament, with champions from each of the four conferences, one host, an additional OUA team, and two additional Canada West teams. ^[1] While the berths for the conference champions and host remain consistent year-to-year, the other three invitees can change based on the host's conference and the competitive landscape in U Sports. The championship takes place over three days and features 11 games, with teams seeded 1–8. Teams are ranked by a committee as well as by the ELO ranking used to determine weekly Top 10 rankings nationally. ^[1] Conference champions can be ranked no lower than 6th place. The team ranked 1st plays the 8th ranked team, 2nd plays 7th, 3rd plays 6th, and 4th plays 5th in the quarter-finals. To ensure common rest times, teams are not re-seeded after the first round, so the winner of 1v8 plays the winner of 4v5 and the winner of 2v7 plays the winner of 3v6. ^[1] There is also a consolation bracket to determine the third-place winner (bronze medalist) and fifth-place winner. The gold medal game is the last game played in the tournament. ^[1]

Results

Round Robin Format (1971–1982)

Year	Host (City)		Championship final				Teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up
1971	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Manitoba Bisonettes	3–1	Toronto Varsity Blues		4
1972	Laurentian (Sudbury, ON)		Western Ontario Mustangs	3–1	Dalhousie Tigers		N/A
1973	Acadia (Wolfville, NS)		UBC Thunderettes	3–1	Western Ontario Mustangs		N/A
1974	British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)		UBC Thunderettes	3–2	Western Ontario Mustangs		5
1975	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Western Ontario Mustangs	3–0	Saskatchewan Huskiettes		N/A
1976	Manitoba/Winnipeg (Winnipeg, MB)		Western Ontario Mustangs	3–1	UBC Thunderettes		5
1977	Waterloo (Waterloo, ON)		UBC Thunderettes	3–0	Western Ontario Mustangs		5
1978	Moncton (Moncton, NB)		UBC Thunderettes	3–1	Western Ontario Mustangs		6
1979	McMaster (Hamilton, ON)		Saskatchewan Huskiettes	3–1	York Yeowomen		N/A
1980	Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK)		Saskatchewan Huskiettes	3–1	Ottawa Gee-Gees		6
1981	Victoria (Victoria, BC)		Saskatchewan Huskiettes	3–1	Manitoba Bisons		6
1982	Dalhousie (Halifax, NS)		Dalhousie Tigers	3–2	Calgary Dinosaurs		6

^{[2] [6] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]}

Single Elimination Format (1983–present)

Year	Host (City)		Gold medal match				Bronze medal match				Teams
			Gold medalists	Score	Silver medalists		Bronze medalists	Score	4th place
1983	British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–0	Calgary Dinosaurs		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Laval Rouge et Or		8
1984	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–2	Dalhousie Tigers		York Yeowomen	3–2	Laval Rouge et Or		8
1985	York (North York, ON)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–1	Calgary Dinosaurs		York Yeowomen	3–2	Saskatchewan Huskiettes		8
1986	Moncton (Moncton, NB)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–2	Manitoba Bisons		Sherbrooke Vert et Or	3–0	Laval Rouge et Or		8
1987	Winnipeg (Winnipeg, MB)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–0	Manitoba Bisons		Laval Rouge et Or	3–1	Victoria Vikettes		8
1988	Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, QC)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–0	Sherbrooke Vert et Or		Laval Rouge et Or	3–1	Calgary Dinosaurs		8
1989	Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK)		Calgary Dinosaurs	3–0	Victoria Vikettes		Laval Rouge et Or	3–2	Winnipeg Wesmen		8
1990	Windsor (Windsor, ON)		Manitoba Bisons	3–2	Victoria Vikettes		York Yeowomen	3–2	Regina Cougars		8
1991	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Saskatchewan Huskies		York Yeowomen	3–2	Winnipeg Wesmen		8
1992	York (North York, ON)		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Winnipeg Wesmen		Calgary Dinosaurs	3–1	York Yeowomen		8
1993	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Winnipeg Wesmen	3–0	Alberta Pandas		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Calgary Dinosaurs		8
1994	Winnipeg (Winnipeg, MB)		Calgary Dinosaurs	3–0	Winnipeg Wesmen		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Montreal Carabins		8
1995	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		Alberta Pandas	3–1	Laval Rouge et Or		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Winnipeg Wesmen		8
1996	Toronto (Toronto, ON)		Alberta Pandas	3–1	Laval Rouge et Or		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Winnipeg Wesmen		8
1997	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		Alberta Pandas	3–2	UBC Thunderbirds		Laval Rouge et Or	3–0	Manitoba Bisons		8
1998	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		Alberta Pandas	3–1	Manitoba Bisons		Laval Rouge et Or	3–2	UBC Thunderbirds		8
1999	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		Alberta Pandas	3–1	UBC Thunderbirds		Manitoba Bisons	3–0	Laval Rouge et Or		8
2000	Winnipeg (Winnipeg, MB)		Alberta Pandas	3–2	Manitoba Bisons		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Montreal Carabins		8
2001	Manitoba (Winnipeg, MB)		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Sherbrooke Vert et Or		Laval Rouge et Or	3–0	Toronto Varsity Blues		8
2002	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Manitoba Bisons	3–1	Calgary Dinos		UBC Thunderbirds	3–0	Sherbrooke Vert et Or		8
2003	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Sherbrooke Vert et Or	3–1	Winnipeg Wesmen		Alberta Pandas	3–1	Calgary Dinos		8
2004	Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK)		Calgary Dinos	3–1	Alberta Pandas		Laval Rouge et Or	3–0	UBC Thunderbirds		8
2005	Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, SK)		Sherbrooke Vert et Or	3–0	UBC Thunderbirds		Calgary Dinos	3–1	Alberta Pandas		8
2006 Details	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Laval Rouge et Or	3–1	UBC Thunderbirds		Calgary Dinos	3–2	Montreal Carabins		8
2007 Details	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Alberta Pandas	3–1	Laval Rouge et Or		Calgary Dinos	3–0	Trinity Western Spartans		8
2008 Details	New Brunswick (Fredericton, NB)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Montreal Carabins		Calgary Dinos	3–2	Alberta Pandas		8
2009 Details	New Brunswick (Fredericton, NB)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Calgary Dinos		Montreal Carabins	3–2	Laval Rouge et Or		8
2010 Details	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Manitoba Bisons		Laval Rouge et Or	3–1	Alberta Pandas		8
2011 Details	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–0	Laval Rouge et Or		Trinity Western Spartans	3–1	Alberta Pandas		8
2012 Details	McMaster (Hamilton, ON)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Alberta Pandas		McGill Martlets	3–1	Montreal Carabins		8
2013 Details	Sherbrooke (Sherbrooke, QC)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–0	Alberta Pandas		Trinity Western Spartans	3–0	Ottawa Gee-Gees		8
2014 Details	Regina (Regina, SK)		Manitoba Bisons	3–0	UBC Thunderbirds		Laval Rouge et Or	3–1	Dalhousie Tigers		8
2015 Details	Toronto (Toronto, ON)		Trinity Western Spartans	3–2	Alberta Pandas		Montreal Carabins	3–2	Toronto Varsity Blues		8
2016 Details	Brandon (Brandon, MB)		Toronto Varsity Blues	3–0	Trinity Western Spartans		UBC Okanagan Heat	3–0	UBC Thunderbirds		8
2017 Details	Ryerson (Toronto, ON)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Alberta Pandas		Trinity Western Spartans	3–2	Montreal Carabins		8
2018 Details	Laval (Quebec City, QC)		Ryerson Rams	3–1	Alberta Pandas		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Calgary Dinos		8
2019 Details	Alberta (Edmonton, AB)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Ryerson Rams		Alberta Pandas	3–2	Dalhousie Tigers		8
2020 Details	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [7]				Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [7]				8
2021 Details	British Columbia (Vancouver, BC)		Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [8]				Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [8]				8
2022 Details	Calgary (Calgary, AB)		Trinity Western Spartans	3–1	Mount Royal Cougars		Alberta Pandas	3–0	McGill Martlets		8
2023 Details	British Columbia [18] (Vancouver, BC)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–2	Trinity Western Spartans		Dalhousie Tigers	3–2	Manitoba Bisons		8
2024 Details	McMaster [18] (Hamilton, ON)		UBC Thunderbirds	3–1	Alberta Pandas		Manitoba Bisons	3–0	Acadia Axewomen		8
2025 Details	Manitoba [18] (Winnipeg, MB)										8
2026 Details	Trinity Western [18] (Langley, BC)										8
2027 Details	Toronto [19] (Toronto, ON)										8
2028 Details	Mount Royal [18] (Calgary, AB)										8

^{[2] [6]}

Results by schools

The following table includes all known first, second, and third-place finishes, as indicated above. Prior to 1983, there were no third-place finishes, and the second-place finish was the loser of the championship game.

Team	Conference	1st	2nd	3rd	Last
UBC Thunderbirds	Canada West	14	6	5	2024
Alberta Pandas	Canada West	7	8	3	2007
Manitoba Bisons	Canada West	7	6	5	2014
Winnipeg Wesmen	Canada West	7	3	0	1993
Calgary Dinos	Canada West	3	5	5	2004
Western Ontario Mustangs	OUA	3	4	0	1976
Saskatchewan Huskies	Canada West	3	2	0	1981
Sherbrooke Vert et Or	RSEQ	2	2	1	2005
Trinity Western Spartans	Canada West	2	2	3	2022
Laval Rouge et Or	RSEQ	1	4	9	2006
Dalhousie Tigers	AUS	1	2	1	1982
Toronto Varsity Blues	OUA	1	1	0	2016
Ryerson Rams	OUA	1	1	0	2018
Victoria Vikes/Vikettes	Canada West	0	2	0	None
York Lions/Yeowomen	OUA	0	1	4	None
Montreal Carabins	RSEQ	0	1	2	None
Ottawa Gee-Gees	RSEQ	0	1	0	None
Mount Royal Cougars	OUA	0	1	0	None
McGill Martlets	RSEQ	0	0	1	None
UBC Okanagan Heat	Canada West	0	0	1	None

See also

• NCAA Division I women's volleyball tournament

External links

• U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship

References

1. "Playing Regulations: Women's Volleyball" (PDF). U Sports. June 25, 2019.
2. "U Sports Volleyball Championship History". usports.ca. U Sports. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
3. "2022 U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship: Veteran trio leads Trinity Western to national glory". usports.ca. U Sports. March 27, 2022.
4. "Varsity Blues Women's Volleyball History". Toronto Varsity Blues . Retrieved January 4, 2020.
5. Martin, Melissa (January 16, 2015). "The first spike: 'Bisonettes' claimed first women's national volleyball championship". Winnipeg Free Press . Retrieved July 26, 2020.
6. "CIS Championship Results" (PDF). usports.ca. U Sports. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
7. "Women's volleyball nationals cancelled at U of C". Calgary Sun. March 13, 2020.
8. "U Sports unable to offer national championships in winter 2021". usports.ca. U Sports. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
9. "Girls finish third". The Chevron. March 12, 1971. p. 18. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
10. "1979 University of Saskatchewan Huskiettes Women's Volleyball Team". Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
11. "WEEK 11 – Huskie Athletics Top 100 Moments". independentsportsnews.com. November 29, 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
12. "Right here in our own backyard". The Ubyssey. March 6, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
13. "Women athletes victorious" (PDF). UBC Reports. March 15, 1973. p. 4. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
14. "Marilyn Walter". Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
15. "Marilyn Walter". Mustang Volley. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
16. "Volleyball champs". torontopubliclibrary.ca. The Globe and Mail (1936-2017). March 6, 1972. p. S8.
17. "Sports Roundup". torontopubliclibrary.ca. The Globe and Mail (1936-2017). March 3, 1975. p. S3.
18. "Calendar – U Sports HQ". U Sports . Retrieved March 19, 2021.
19. "U of T to host pair of U Sports championships in 2025 & 2027". Toronto Varsity Blues. October 17, 2024.