Island Rivalry

#2 VIU Mariners vs. #3 Camosun Chargers – Friday February 27, 1:00pm | WATCH HERE

The PACWEST volleyball championship tournament will open on the women’s side of the bracket on Friday afternoon as the Mariners and Chargers square off in an all-island semifinal.

Despite them finishing just one spot apart in the standings, the Mariners collected 18 more points than the Chargers and won the seasonal series 3-1 during the regular campaign.   They last met in early January, the Mariners winning in five, before Chargers bounced back with a five-set win of their own.  In their first weekend doubleheader of the year, the Mariners swept the Chargers in back-to-back matches in mid-October.

Coming into the playoff tournament, the Mariners (16-4) have been on fire winning seven in a row, five of which courtesy of a three-set sweep.  Their offence has really started to click at the right time led by the lefty Grace Brisebois and her 220 kills and Regan Ingram’s 197.  Brisebois has also been a very well-rounded threat with 46 aces, second most in the Conference and was brilliant at the net on the defensive side leading her team with 30 blocks.

Their island rivals, the Chargers’ (7-13) road to the postseason was a bit bumpier, winning just once in their final four matches and have won only three times in 2026…one of those came against the Mariners.  They finished tied in the standing with the Douglas Royals but had won the tiebreaker card earlier this year, which they cashed in to claim the third seed and a date with the Mariners.  It’s no secret that their offence runs through Erica Bolink and her Conference high 300 kills and 382 total points.  Last season she led her team to an upset win in the semis thanks to her thunderous serve, something she will no doubt crank up again on Friday.  She finished with a Conference high 58 aces in the regular season.  They will need to find some secondary scoring if they have any hope of upsetting the Mariners to advance and play for gold.

In the backcourt the match will feature two of the best liberos in the business.  Sloan Thomson of the Chargers has been terrific with a Conference high 81 digs and Jordan Exner of the Mariners leads the Conference in digs per set averaging over three.

These two schools are no strangers to each other in playoff time.  This will be the fourth straight season they have battled in the postseason and fourth in five years.  Last year the Mariners won gold in four sets, claimed a five-set victory in a 2024 semi and won a gold over the Chargers in 2020.  The Chargers lone win over this stretch was a gold medal in 2023 in three sets.

The winner of Friday’s semifinal will advance to play for a Conference gold medal and a step closer to representing the PACWEST in Manitoba at the CCAA national championship.