One more busy weekend for NAIT Athletics is in the books, and it was a memorable one, to be sure!

Here's the recap:

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
This was already the most memorable weekend for Ooks men's volleyball, fresh off their first ACAC title in nearly a half-century and making their first National Championship appearance, but the goal certainly wasn't just to make it this far.

The Ooks' first opponent, the Providence Pilots, made that goal a bit more challenging to accomplish. A match that would prove to be close throughout began with Providence taking an extra-points opening set and battling back from a slow second-set start to win it 25-22, to go up two sets to 0. The Ooks, throughout the season, have had a resilient mindset, which came in handy here, as they would respond to the second set with a third-set victory of their own by an identical 25-22 score. Momentum beneath their wings, the Ooks cruised through the fourth set, the only set of the match that wasn't decided by a close score, and completed the comeback with a strong, clutch fifth-set victory to secure a hard-earned spot in the semi-final round.

Taking on their next opponent, the Humber Hawks, the Ooks had some momentum from their previous match win, as they roared out to a two sets to 0 lead against the Hawks. The third set offered the first chance for the Ooks to finish the Hawks off. However, Humber prevented the sweep from happening with a 25-20 third-set win. With the match now requiring a fourth set, Humber carried some momentum throughout, not going away quietly and pushing the game to a fifth and final set. The Ooks have been strong in fifth sets all year long. Despite needing an extra point to do so, they overpowered Humber to take the match 3 sets to 2 and advance to the Gold medal game.

Having seen a similar script before, with the ACAC Championship Weekend, it seemed like being just one step away from the ultimate prize made the Ooks unstoppable. Against the Titans de Limoilou, the Ooks accomplished a feat similar to what they achieved against Keyano College in the ACAC Final: three straight sets of hard work and hustle and coming out on top at the end of the set. With a three sets to 0 victory, your Ooks are the National champions in Men's Volleyball for the first time ever!

Congratulations on the championship, boys, and on an incredibly memorable season none of us will forget!

WOMEN'S HOCKEY
The Ooks women's hockey team opened up their Finals with a home-and-home for the first two games vs. the Lakeland College Rustlers.

Despite the first game being at Lakeland, the Ooks took ownership early and often, leading 2-0 after the first period on goals and extending the lead to 3-0 less than a minute into the second courtesy of Martin's second tally of the game.

Not needing more offense than that, the Ooks and Kaitlyn Slator did a solid job the rest of the way defending the lead. Slator extended her personal shutout streak to seven consecutive periods before the Rustlers solved her with a power-play goal a couple of minutes into the third period. That was as close as Lakeland would get, with the entire Ooks team not allowing much else in the way of good chances for the rest of the 3rd, seeing the game to the finish line and sealing the Game 1 victory.

The series shifted to the NAIT Arena for Game 2, with the Ooks carrying some momentum into the home game from that 3-1 win. Lakeland, however, charged out to the opening 1-0 lead after the first period.

Games between NAIT and Lakeland have been tightly contested all year long, and Game 2 would prove to be a microcosm of how little separation existed between these two teams. The Ooks battled back to tie the score up at 1-1 on a deflected goal by Grace Morton, but Lakeland once again managed the next goal. Somehow, the Ooks would not allow a third to be scored before the buzzer sounded, as both teams headed to the dressing rooms with the score difference again being just one goal.

The third was where the Ooks really shone. Not only did they not allow another Lakeland tally to go into their net, but they also notched an even-strength goal by Michaella Kibblewhite and a power-play goal by Cheyenna Harden to take a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish. The Ooks now lead the series two games to 0, with a chance to get the third and deciding win this upcoming weekend.