Women's Volleyball | 10/29/2026 10:00:00 AM
"Unique."
That was the first word that popped into the mind of York University Lions women's volleyball player Quinn McTavish when describing the 2025-26 season for both her and her team.
"It wasn't quite what I expected it to be," said the third-year middle blocker, who takes over as the Lions captain this season.
McTavish missed most of last season with a stress fracture in her foot, and, while obviously not the type of season she wanted, she believes it made her stronger as she enters her third season in the red and white.
"I definitely had a different perspective on last season," she admitted. "But that was a blessing in a way, because I got to sit back and watch, and had an opportunity to develop my leadership skills.
"It was a big mental development year, and that's really helped me a lot coming into this year."
As a team, the Lions finished 7-13 in 2025-26 after a 10-10 season the year prior, leaving the team looking for more as we head into a new season beginning Friday in Guelph.
"We had some high expectations, and we didn't quite have the season we wanted," McTavish said. "Everyone is really hungry to make the playoffs this year and earn an OUA banner, and everyone has the work ethic and the drive to make that happen, and I think we have a lot more mature bodies who are ready to take on the challenge."
The Lions had a busy preseason, playing six non-conference matches. Three of those went five sets, while they also earned two three-set wins, one of which against their opening-weekend opponent, the Guelph Gryphons.
"We worked really hard coming into the preseason, and I think it's been good," McTavish said. "We've had a lot of great competition, a lot of opportunities to play, and it's allowed us to deepen our bench and give everyone playing time.
"It's been a great learning opportunity to see what works and what doesn't work, and how we respond to pressure in key moments."
A key area for the Lions has been their first contact, working on upping the competitiveness of their first serve and making sure that, when receiving, the setter receives a strong pass in order to put the team in a position to attack and put points on the board efficiently.
"We have a great group of middles, so it's important for our setters to get a good pass," McTavish said. "Our middles are our most efficient hitters, so being able to use them is super important.
"Our outsides have also been working on high-ball attacking, so when we are out of system, we can still execute and make plays."
Joining the Pride this year are five new Lions, including rookies Hailey Lisik, Jasmin Sanford and Alexa Scott. However, the Lions also brought in a pair of veteran OUA players in middle blocker Anna Gadomski, formerly of the Toronto Varsity Blues, and setter Brooke Davis, a three-time OUA all-star with the Windsor Lancers, including an all-rookie nomination in 2018.
"Their experience has been great," McTavish said of Gadomski and Davis. "It's nice to be able to look up to them in those crucial moments, and they're really great leaders, people we can all look up to, and they're very stable, mature players."
