U Sports women's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of

indoor volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and operates under the auspices of

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body for universities in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country and four regional conferences: Ontario University Athletics (OUA), Résea ...

(formerly Canadian Interuniversity Sport). 43 teams from

Canadian universities Universities in Canada are established and operate under provincial and territorial government charters or are directed by First Nations bands or by federal legislation. Most public universities in the country are members of Universities Canad ...

are divided into four

athletic conferences An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. C ...

, drawing from the four regional associations of U Sports:

Canada West Universities Athletic Association Canada West (formally the Canada West Universities Athletic Association or CWUAA) is a regional membership association for universities in Western Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs ...

(CW),

Ontario University Athletics Ontario University Athletics (OUA; ) is a regional membership association for Canadian universities which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, results, ...

(OUA),

Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec The Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (), abbreviated RSEQ, is the governing body of primary and secondary school, collegiate, and university sport in Quebec. It also serves as a regional membership association for Canadian universities whi ...

(RSEQ), and

Atlantic University Sport Atlantic University Sport (AUS; ) is a regional membership association for universities in Atlantic Canada which assists in co-ordinating competition between their university level athletic programs and providing contact information, schedules, re ...

(AUS). Following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the

U Sports women's volleyball championship The U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship is a Canadian university volleyball tournament conducted by U Sports, and determines the women's national champion. The tournament involves the champions from each of Canada's four regional sports confe ...

Brief history

Organized university volleyball was first played in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in the 1947-48 school year between the

Toronto Varsity Blues The Toronto Varsity Blues are the intercollegiate sports program at the University of Toronto. Its 43 athletic teams regularly participate in competitions held by Ontario University Athletics and U Sports. The Varsity Blues trace their foundin ...

and the

McMaster Marauders The McMaster Marauders are the athletic teams that represent McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Athletics at McMaster is currently managed by the university's student affairs, under their athletics & recreation d ...

where the two teams finished tied for the championship title. Toronto would win the 1948-49 title in the following year. In the Western Canada Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU), the

Saskatchewan Huskies The Saskatchewan Huskies are the athletics teams representing the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The university began their athletics program in 1907 and has competed with others since 1911. They currently compete in eli ...

were named the first champions in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

for the 1949-50 season. In 1950-51, volleyball was admitted as a sport into the Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WIAU) with Toronto, McMaster,

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, and OAC becoming the first four programs to compete in an Ontario league. For the 1952-93 season,

McGill McGill is a surname of Scottish and Irish origin, from which the names of many places and organizations are derived. It may refer to: People * McGill (surname) (including a list of individuals with the surname) * McGill family (Monrovia), a promin ...

and Queen's joined competition in the WIAU. The Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (AIAA) began awarding championships for volleyball for the 1959-60 season which was won by the

UNB Reds The UNB REDS are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The UNB REDS compete in a variety of sports, including men's and women's basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and volleyball. ...

. In 1969, the Canadian Women’s Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU) was formed to provide a national governing body for women's varsity sport in Canada. In December 1969, the WCIAU proposed by that national championships should be established, which was accepted by the CWIAU. Because this was accepted in the middle of the school year, an unofficial national championship was held at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

and won by the

Calgary Dinos The Calgary Dinos are the athletic teams that represent the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. They were known as the "Dinosaurs" but usually referred to as the "Dinos" until 1999, when the name was officially shortened. Some of its venues ...

in the spring of 1970. The first official championship was awarded following the 1970-71 season and was won by the Manitoba Bisonettes over the Toronto Varsity Blues in a match that was decided in four sets. Beginning with the 1972-73 season, the Manitoba Bisons,

Winnipeg Wesmen The Winnipeg Wesmen are the athletic teams that represent the University of Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As an undergraduate school, the Wesmen participate in the sports of basketball, volleyball, and soccer in both the men's and wom ...

, and

Regina Cougars The Regina Cougars are the athletic teams that represent the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Cougars compete in all sports except football; the university's football team is known as the Regina Rams. A number of the ...

played in the separate Great Plains Athletic Association (later renamed Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC)) while the Saskatchewan Huskies and teams from Alberta and British Columbia played in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CWUAA). The GPAC and CWUAA combined back into one conference starting in the 2001-02 season. The 2020 championship tournament and the entire 2020–21 season were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Season structure

Exhibition season

To prepare for the season, teams will typically play a series of

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

s against conference and non-conference opponents. These games are usually played in September and/or October before the regular season and in December and/or January during the holiday break.

Regular season

As of the 2023-24 season, the RSEQ begin their season first, on the second Friday of October. The

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

conference begins play one week later and the AUS and OUA schedules begin on the fourth Friday of October. All regular season games are in-conference and the schedule ends in approximately mid-February. The AUS conference features six teams that play four games against each opponent for a total of 20 regular season games. In the RSEQ, eight teams play 21 conference games for a total of three games against each opponent. In Canada West, there are 14 teams in one conference that play against ten other opponents resulting in 20 total games played. The OUA features 15 teams in one conference after previously having teams split in an east and west division. OUA teams play two games against 10 different opponents, leaving four teams as non-combatants for each team's schedule. For the OUA and Canada West conferences, teams will usually play the same opponent twice in one weekend for ease of travel and scheduling. Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Mary Lyons Award is awarded annually to the Player of the Year in U Sports women's volleyball. The Mark Tennant Award is given to the Rookie of the Year and the Thérèse Quigley Award is given to the best well-rounded student (volleyball, academics and community involvement). An award was also given for the Libero of the Year, but it was discontinued after the 2014-15 season. Lisa-Barclay

Playoffs

After the regular season,

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

games and series are held between the top teams in each conference to determine conference champions. In the AUS and RSEQ conferences, the top four teams qualify for the playoffs and play a

best-of-three series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

including in the conference championship. In Canada West, the top eight teams qualify for the playoffs and play best-of-three series in playoff brackets in the quarterfinals. The winners of these series play in best-of-three semifinals until two teams remain where they play in a

single elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

conference championship game. The OUA is the only conference that features a single elimination format in all playoff games. Teams are seeded one through eight and advance to the semi-finals in a bracket format with the higher-seeded team hosting each game. The highest-seeded remaining team hosts the conference championship, the Quigley Cup.

National championship

The

was officially established in 1971 following the organization of the Canadian Women’s Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU). A predetermined host university stages the eight-team tournament over three days and finals games are played on the last day to award gold, silver, and bronze medals. The host team is automatically qualified for the tournament, as are each of the conference champions. Three other teams are entered based on the strength of their conferences and their post-season finishes. The

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athl ...

have won the most championships with 14 gold medals won, followed by the eight titles won by the

Manitoba Bisons The Manitoba Bisons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The football team plays at Princess Auto Stadium, the soccer team plays at the outdoor soccer field on campus, track and field te ...

. The national championship has historically been dominated by the

conference with those teams winning 44 of the 53 championship matches as of the 2024-25 season. The

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

championship tournaments were cancelled due to the

Teams

Membership

There were 43 teams that had participated in the 2024–25 Women's volleyball season. Recently,

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

and

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

previously had programs is the AUS conference, but they were cut due to budgetary reasons in 2013 and 2015, respectively. On the opposite side, the Canada West conference has seen a growth in team membership, adding the UBCO Heat in 2011-12,

Mount Royal Cougars The Mount Royal Cougars are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Cougars field eight varsity teams with four men's teams and four women's teams that compete in the Canada West ...

in 2012-13,

MacEwan Griffins The MacEwan Griffins are the athletic teams that represent MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, teams compete in U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing ...

in 2014-15, and the

UFV Cascades The UFV Cascades are the athletic teams that represent the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia and currently compete in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Canada West confe ...

in 2020-21. The

UQTR Patriotes The UQTR Patriotes () are the athletic teams that represent the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The university features teams in swimming (sport), swimming, golf, ice hockey, hockey, association footb ...

are playing in the RSEQ Division 1 as of the 2021-22 season after playing in the conference's Division 2. After becoming the 57th member of U Sports, the UQAC Inuk fielded a women's volleyball team beginning in 2023. The ETS Piranhas became a member of U Sports in 2024 with their women's volleyball team playing the same year. The

Ottawa Gee-Gees The Ottawa Gee-Gees () are the athletic teams that represent the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980 ...

announced intentions to move from the RSEQ and joined the OUA beginning with the 2024-25 season.

Canada West

*Note: Conference titles won by teams in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (1972-73 season to 2000-01 season) are not included in the above table due to lack of information on this conference.

Ontario University Athletics

*Note: The Ottawa Gee-Gees played in the RSEQ from 2016 to 2024.

Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec

Atlantic University Sport

References

External links

* {{Major women's sport leagues in North America National volleyball leagues Volleyball in Canada U Sports volleyball