Nineteen years is a long time to wait. On Sunday, the wait ended in 73 minutes.
The University of Alberta Pandas swept the Université de Sherbrooke 3-0 at the Langley Events Centre in British Columbia to claim the 2026 U Sports national women's volleyball championship their eighth title in program history and their first since 2007. The final scores: 25-13, 25-23, 25-12.
It wasn't close.
Silver. Bronze. Then Gold.
Head coach Carolyn O'Dwyer has been building toward this. Her team won silver in 2024, losing to UBC in the final. Then bronze in 2025, falling to Montreal in the semis before bouncing back to beat UBC for third. Close, but not enough twice.
Sunday was different.
"There was a lot they could take away from that how to perform under pressure and be their best when it matters,"
O'Dwyer said.
"I think we saw a really mature group this weekend that kind of knew how to win in those big moments."
That maturity showed all season. The Pandas finished 25-2, the best record in the country, and entered the national tournament as the top seed. They beat Montreal in the quarterfinals and Trinity Western in the semis before closing it out against Sherbrooke on Sunday night hitting .340 as a team while holding Sherbrooke to just .042. They also recorded 12 blocks and six service aces in the championship match alone.
The Players Who Did It
Fourth-year outside hitter Laila Johnston an Edmonton native was named player of the match in the final, leading the team with 12 kills. Abby Guezen of Sherwood Park was named tournament MVP, finishing the championship game with 16 points and four service aces. Setter Justine Kolody rounded out an all-star trio, with all three landing on the seven-player tournament all-star team.
Guezen had been the standout all season 277 kills, 44 service aces, and the U Sports Player of the Year award before the tournament even tipped off. Misha Hameed of Edmonton led the team in digs, while Allie Moore and Payton Henderson added two solo blocks each in the final.
What the History Books Say
The Pandas program is one of the most decorated in Canadian university volleyball. They won six straight national titles from 1995 to 2000, added another in 2007, and have been chasing number eight ever since. Sunday delivered it in a gym in Langley, in front of a crowd that wasn't cheering for them, in straight sets, in just over an hour.
An entire generation of U of A students came and went without seeing this team win a national title. The players who finished it on Sunday did it cleanly.
Edmonton, this one's yours.
