The University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat Women’s Volleyball team toppled University of Alberta (U of A) from the number one rank in Canadian Inter-University Sports (CIS), claiming the title for themselves after fighting a tactical battle over two games on the weekend of Jan. 15 and 16.
Outside hitter for UBCO, Michelle Jakszuk from Gibsons, said her team switched up their regular defensive strategy to turn the tables against
U of A. “They didn’t know what to do because we were picking up everything that had scored on us previously when we’ve played them,” Jakszuk said.
Normally, she explained, the team focuses on dropping down the line to dig up hard-driven shots, but head coach Steve Manuel was concerned that U of A would be expecting this.
“We changed our defence, so instead of dropping down the line you’d stay up behind the blockers to dig the tips,” Jakszuk said. “It really ended up working out for us. They didn’t have an answer to our changed defence.”
UBCO took a bit of a beating in the first set, Jakszuk said, but they came back with a ferocity that destroyed the reigning champions.
“Michelle is the type of player that can change the game in a real quick way,” Manuel said. “She’s the kind of player that will do her job and do some good things and you won’t notice her for awhile. Then there will be a spell in the game where she’ll take over and – with her athleticism and her size [185 cm] – she’ll just take over and score two or three or four or five crucial points and do a couple of things that other players can’t do as often or maybe can’t even do at all from a physical standpoint.”
Manuel said their victory wasn’t just due to updating the team’s defensive strategy. He said they flipped back and forth between their usual strategy and their new one to keep U of A on their toes.
“We played more to counter some of the strengths that some of their players have,” Manuel said. “They have a couple of very skilled outside hitters who move the ball around very well and have a wide variety of shots, so I would say that we played more of a defensive scheme that was – in some ways – a bit more neutral. It let us get our hands on a wider variety of shots, rather than focusing on playing back and just playing for the hard attacks that go around the block, which we normally do.”
UBCO is on a bye this coming weekend – meaning they don’t play – and following that they take on UBC Vancouver (ranked ninth) then defend their position at the top of the pile against Trinity Western (ranked second).
“The next few weekends will definitely be battles,” Jakszuk said. “They won’t be easy, so we have to get ready for that.”
