CCAA Championships – What You Need to Know Before the STU vs Limoilou National Quaterfinal

CCAA Championships – What You Need to Know Before the STU vs Limoilou National Quaterfinal

The St. Thomas University Tommies are in Victoria, BC, this week to compete at the 2017-2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Volleyball National Championships.

The Green and Gold earned their berth to the national event after claiming their eighth Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association championship in program history with a 3-1 upset over the top-seeded Holland College Hurricanes. They will now face off with a familiar foe, les Titans du Cégep Limoilou in the national quarterfinals, Thursday evening at 6:00pm PST.

The Tommies seem to have found their groove and are peaking at the right time. ACAA Rookie of the Year Christian Christie has been firing on all cylinders and leads the Tommies offensive attack with 2.95 kills per set. He had his best performance of the year in the ACAA finals, racking up 24 kills in the win. Fellow freshman Garret Dickson is also on a roll. He had 16 kills over the course of the playoff weekend and added a tournament-high 14 total blocks. Fifth-year setter Jonah Burridge continues to captain the offence and the Tommies will rely on his experience as this will be his fourth CCAA national championship appearance.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIMOILOU

Les Titans du Cégep Limoilou went 14-2 in regular season play and won their 27th RSEQ collegiate conference championship with a 3-0 sweep over les Geants du Cégep Saint-Jean-Sur-Le-Richelieu.

Les Titans are led by setter and RSEQ MVP Ludvic Martin, who runs one of the fastest paced offences in the country. In addition to his high assist rate, he also led the RSEQ in aces per set with 0.51. Les Titans also boast a strong trio of hitters—Nicolas Fortin, Phillipe Giroux, and Xavier Leblanc-Martin all find themselves in the conference's top 15 in kills per set.

Limoilou is one of the most storied programs in CCAA history, boasting 10 national championships. They have won silver at the past three national tournaments.

HISTORY WITH LIMOILOU

St. Thomas has battled with Limoilou on several occasions since the 2014 season.

  • At the 2014 Coupe De l'Est, hosted by Limoilou, the Tommies bested les Titans in a five set thriller on their home court. Limoilou was ranked as the #8 team in the country at the time.
  • In 2015, St. Thomas met Limoilou in the CCAA semifinals. Les Titans got the best of the Tommies that day, winning 3-1. Thursday's match-up will be the second time STU and Limoilou face off at nationals.
  • Earlier this year, the Tommies traveled to Quebec City to play les Titans in a series of exhibition matches. Limoilou repaid the favor by traveling to Fredericton in December to play in another exhibition match. Limoilou won that contest 3-2.

Make sure to tune into http://sportscanada.tv/pacwest/camosun-chargers to catch all the action!