It’s been another exciting week on the Waterloo campus! Two dominant performances from women’s volleyball’s Avery Isaacs and women’s hockey’s Tatum James led the Warriors to success over the weekend. Both teams played two games, and after initially suffering close losses, they went on to dominate against some of the highest-rated teams in Canada. Despite the pressure, Isaacs and James broke career-highs and set new records during one of the most eventful sports weekends this semester.
Avery Isaacs
After a win and a loss against the TMU Bold the weekend prior, the Warriors women’s volleyball team was 8-8 heading into their matchup against the Western Mustangs. To call the Warriors underdogs was an understatement; the Mustangs are the #10-ranked team in Canada and the #2-ranked team in the OUA, while Waterloo sits at #9. Nevertheless, a 3-1 loss in the first of two games against them showed the Mustangs that this wouldn’t be an easy matchup. With home-court advantage on their side, the Warriors kept each set close, and although many players performed well, a glance at the box score showed fourth-year biology student and middle Avery Isaacs leading the game with seven blocks against one of the fastest-paced teams in the OUA.
The Calgary native has sports in her blood; her mother, a “big inspiration” for her, played rugby for Team Canada before having her. She guided her as she was growing up, “having an athletic presence in the household, teaching me things like ‘this is how you push yourself, this is how you treat teammates.’”
Isaacs first took to the volleyball court in the eighth grade, when a friend asked her to come out for tryouts. She made the long trip to play for UW after speaking to several other Calgary players who had already joined, and after connecting with UW’s coach through her volleyball club, the match was set.
“The transition [from Calgary to Waterloo] was tough, but I bonded with the girls on the team really quickly. We spend a lot of time together, and it translates onto the court,” Isaacs says.
In the second match against the Mustangs, team cohesion was the deciding factor. In a close game where “anyone [on the Warriors] could’ve ended up with the athlete of the week award,” the Warriors came firing out of the gate and won the first set, 25-23. Isaacs struggled initially, though she scored two kills before being subbed out. Heading into the second set, the Mustangs came out in full force, and despite another three kills from Isaacs, they won 25-16. The back-and-forth action continued for the rest of the game, but the third set was all Isaacs.
“My teammates and I talked to the coach before the third set, and they said, ‘okay, we’re going to try and get you the ball as much as we can,’ and stepping up to get those passes and make those plays, for me, is something I’m excited about. There’s no pressure for me, it’s more so I get to do this, and I’m going to do it well,’” Isaacs says.
The Warriors’ strategy was logical, and it was effective. Isaacs is the most efficient attacker in Canada, with an attack efficiency of 0.456, and needless to say, her work paid off when they won the third set 25-22. She finished with nine kills, scoring three times in a row at one point. Now down 2-1, the Mustangs weren’t going to let a UW victory come easily. But they’d have to stop UW’s all-star-calibre middle if they wanted to add another tally to their victory column.
The fourth set was one of the most competitive. The Warriors’ attempt to close out the game early was met by fierce Mustang resistance, and despite Isaacs three blocks in three consecutive plays, the home team fell 20-25.
Now in overtime, further than most thought the Warriors would make it, UW rallied and executed a volleyball clinic against one of the best teams in Canada. Isaacs picked up three more kills and an assist to win the game with a final score of 15-10 in the set, and 3-2 for the game.
“I set goals for myself in my first and second year that seemed almost unachievable, and now I’m seeing some of those pay out in my fourth year. I’m definitely aiming for an all-star spot this year,” Isaacs says.
Her goal is extremely achievable. On top of being the most efficient hitter, she’s also 15th in total kills this season, with 153. She’s also surpassed 100 career blocks for the Warriors and moved to #3 on the all-time list. It’s no surprise that she collected 10 in the 2 games against the Mustangs. This marks her second athlete of the week award of the season and her career.
Nevertheless, she took time to “recognize the outstanding performances” of her teammates, crediting them for her success as well. She commended “[Mackenzie Leu], she had an all-time personal best for kills. [Molly White] and [Marlyn Ma], all-time high for kills, [Ashlynn Freiburger] had an all-time high for digs.”
The Warriors, now 9-9, look to close out their season with wins against the Guelph Gryphons, whom they’ll be playing in Guelph next weekend. The Gryphons are on a 6-game win streak after beating TMU, and are 12-6 for the season.
Tatum James
Nobody can guide a puck to the back of the net quite like women’s hockey forward Tatum James. The Stratford native’s relentless playstyle keeps teams on their toes, and her efforts will be etched into UW history; after scoring two goals against the Guelph Gryphons and one against the Laurier Golden Hawks, she now has 43 goals in her career, the most in Warriors women’s hockey history.
Despite an incredible record of 14-8 and an 11-game win streak at one point, the Warriors knew how tough their schedule was going to be last weekend. They would be playing against two of the top-five teams in Canada, the Gryphons and the Golden Hawks, while UW, the reigning OUA champions, were ranked seventh.
Beginning against the Gryphons, the game was tied up 1-1 after the first period before a torrent unleashed against the Warriors in the second, and they were down 4-1 going into the third. James, never one to give up, continued the attack and scored two goals in the last five minutes of the game. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough, finishing the game with a final score of 4-3 for the Gryphons. But the Warriors found their groove again in the following game.
The Golden Hawks, the #4-ranked team in Canada, have had a historically difficult matchup against the Warriors, with the black and gold taking 7 out of their last 9 games. After a scoreless first period, James jammed the puck into the back of the Golden Hawks’ net fifteen minutes into the second, tying up the game just four minutes after Laurier took the lead. It snowballed from there; James’ goal was the first of three unanswered points, and despite a valiant comeback effort from the Golden Hawks, this time it would be the Warriors icing the Battle of Waterloo, 4-3.
The cherry on top of James’ and the Warriors’ incredible performance? The team has moved up to #5 in Canada, and as long as James is on the ice, they’ll only climb higher. One of the most successful sports teams at UW in recent years, this is James’ second time winning the athlete of the week award and first this year. This season alone, the women’s hockey program has won the award five times, with four different athletes being named. Heavy contenders to win the OUA championship again, the team’s goal of winning U Sports gets closer and closer with every game.
The Warriors will have another marquee matchup next weekend when they take the bus to Kingston to face the #8-ranked Queen’s Gaels. The Gaels are on a three-game win streak after stomping the Windsor Lancers 8-1, in Kingston. The Gaels are 18-6.
