Axewomen finish fourth at U SPORTS national championship

HAMILTON (U SPORTS) – Light Uchechukwu tallied a team-high 11 kills to lead the No. 1-seed Manitoba Bisons to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-17) victory over the No. 6 Acadia Axewomen in the bronze medal match of the 2024 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship at Burridge Gymnasium on Sunday. Uchechukwu recorded a .333 hitting percentage on 24 total attacks while adding six digs and one solo block.

Katreena Bentley was nothing short of impressive for the Bisons in the bronze medal match, tallying 29 assists, five digs and four kills while adding a solo block. Brenna Bedosky recorded a dominant .700 percentage with seveb kills and zero errors on 10 attacks.

In a battle for some hardware, Manitoba started strong, going up 16-9 in the first set. Acadia got within five, but the Bisons never trailed and picked up a 25-18 Set #1 victory.

Looking to even the scoreline, the Axewomen went up 3-2 early in Set #2 but the championship’s No. 1 seed scored 11 straight points to take a commanding lead to secure the set by a 25-13 final, going up 2-0 heading into the third set.

Both squads went back-and-forth in the third, exchanging points throughout much of the contest. Despite being challenged at points by the Axewomen, the Bisons held the advantage for much of Set #3 and secured the victory with a 25-17 score to take the bronze medal match 3-0.

Alexia Lemay-Evans led the way for the Axewomen, putting down eight kills in the contest and adding four digs. Charlotte Dean chipped in 17 assists, one kill and five digs. She was also named a championship all-star.

The Canada West Champion Bisons cap their season off with a bronze medal, while the Atlantic University Sport Champions finish the tournament in fourth.

Mikasa Players of the Game:

Acadia Axewomen: Alexia Lemay-Evans

Manitoba Bisons: Brenna Bedosky