Undefeated with six wins

Victoria Alarcon
Sports & Health Editor
There are good players and there are great players.
Good players are the ones that will win you the game. Great players are the ones that will win you the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship.
Brandie Wilkerson is a great player.
The sight of rookie Wilkerson jumping high in the air with arms extended cemented it all as she fired the volleyball straight to the ground, shot after shot, leading her team to a three-set sweep against the Ryerson Rams Nov. 21 at the Tait Mackenzie Centre. The victory marked their sixth win and made them the only undefeated team in the OUA.
“It’s knowing what I want and where I want to hit and just going full out and not worrying about the other team and not worrying about my game,” said Wilkerson of her strategy.
Her strategy worked, as the last set easily went to the Lions 25-12 as she executed the ball strong and fast. The five-foot-ten hitter finished the match with 10 kills and 24 total attempts. In just the first few games of the season, Wilkerson has totaled 78 kills, and averaged 4.90 points each game. She sits second in the OUA leaders board.
The Ryerson Rams would get their chance to make a comeback in the second set as the team took advantage of the Lions’ sloppy passing and set the ball for their offence, holding an eight-point lead at one point; however, the Rams were unable to stop Wilkerson as she quickly changed the momentum of the game to her team’s advantage and grounded the balls. It became a great struggle for the Rams as the team had lost many of their starters and were playing with several injuries.
“Ryerson is going through a tough time with injuries. We had to make sure we were taking advantage of that and exploiting that,” said York head coach Nick Tran after the match was over.
Along with Wilkerson, teammates Sarah Sutton and Kristina Vlcek played an impressive game as they contributed several aces and blocks in the first and second set. Both are no strangers to the competitive nature of university athletics and know how aggressive each has to be.
“We need to keep executing all our game plans and so if we continue to do that then I’m sure we’ll continue to win,” said Vlcek, who finished the game with three kills.
The team have yet to lose a game, and at the moment are tied for first in the Eastern division.
For players like Wilkerson, the thought puts the team all that much closer to their goal of winning the OUA championship and Nationals.
“I think we do want it the most, we were working so hard, we have a very strong line up and girls that are just talented athletes,” said Wilkerson. “We really want to win the OUA games and CIS.”
The team is only six games into the season, and a lot can change in volleyball, especially with the season’s break coming up. Tran only hopes his team can keep that same drive the players have had so far in the season.
“It’s critical that we leave on a solid note. We need to be in the right place before we leave for the break.”