Mike Marshall
Sports Reporter

The women’s volleyball team will take its perfect record into the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association championships this weekend at Durham College.

The Hawks play Loyalist this weekend in the semifinals of the provincial championships held in Oshawa.

“They’re scrappy, they work hard for every ball,” high-scoring Hawk, Landis Doyle said of the team from Belleville. “But we have played them and they haven’t been a problem for us.”

Humber beat the Loyalist Lancers twice in tournament play en route to its unbeaten (20-0) regular season.

The Hawks earned a trip to Oshawa after a straight-set – 25-13, 25-9, 25-19 – home victory over Georgian College in the quarterfinals last Saturday.

“This is our time of year and this is when our best players shine,” head coach Chris Wilkins said.

He singled out the play of Michelle Overzet, who scored 13 points, including a game high 11 kills, earning her player of the game honours.

“She really started to take over at the net,” Wilkins said.

Humber came into the playoffs having lost only five sets all year, capped by a 25-16, 25-13, 25-13 victory in a hostile Redeemer gym in Ancaster just before reading week.

“I was upset that we didn’t beat every team three straight, but after that, I figured 20-0 is not bad,” Doyle said.

A win over Loyalist would put the Hawks in the final against either Nipissing or Algonquin this Saturday.

“That’s been our goal all year, keeping focused on what we have been working on and staying together as a team, playing as hard as we can in every game and hopefully coming out with that gold medal,” said Humber captain Rachel Dubbeldam.

While the Hawks appear confident, Wilkins knows the path to gold won’t be easy.

“All four teams that are going to the (semifinals) have a legitimate chance to win,” Wilkins said. “We’re going to have to bring our A game.”  But I’m confident that our A game against any other teams A game, we come out ahead.”