WVB: Cougars swept 0-3 by Pandas in Emma Boyd’s final home game

The MRU Cougars women’s volleyball team played their final game of the regular season against the University of Alberta Pandas at home on Kenyon Court after waving goodbye to their only graduating senior, Emma Boyd. With her favourite Taylor Swift songs playing in the arena, Boyd led her team into battle one last time and performed exceptionally well, but could not secure a win as the Cougars were swept 0-3 for the second time in a row (23-25, 17-25, 19-25).

The Cougars opened the first set with a long rally, but after a number of attacks and digs from both teams, Sydney Scatcherd and Mya Morgan secured the first point of the match with a tremendous block on the front line. Alberta tied the game at one before the Cougars scored a pair of unanswered points, the second of which came from a ferocious Morgan kill. Boyd secured her first kill on the Cougars’ seventh point of the set, but the Pandas would not go away as they traded scores and errors with MRU. 

With the Cougars up by one point, Alberta opened up a 6-2 run to take a 17-14 lead and force Rhonda Schmuland to call her first timeout of the night.  Alberta’s unique combination of finesse and toughness helped them maintain their lead even as MRU tried to narrow the gap, using floating kills and staunch blocking to stay in control of the set. Paige Davidson and Awien Ngor both picked up kills in the late stages of the set but the Cougars failed to complete the comeback, losing 23-25.

Bronwynn Davies-Neira, Boyd and Scatcherd combined for six of the Cougars’ 10 kills in the first set, while Megan Jones, Lexi Herrod and Davies-Neira teamed up for 14 of the Cougars’ 17 digs.

Alberta scored an ace to start the second set, which soon expanded into a 5-0 run that necessitated an MRU timeout. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the Pandas remained hot coming out of their discussion, scoring off of an MRU attacking error. The Cougars eventually scored their first two points of the set, which came from an Alberta attacking error and a savage Scatcherd kill. The Pandas retaliated immediately with a 3-0 run and soon, they led by double digits, 14-4. The Cougars opened up a 7-3 run in response, but Alberta shut down any hope of a comeback as they handed MRU a 17-25 loss in the second set.

Scatcherd and Boyd scored a trio of kills each to lead the Cougars’ offense, but MRU did not secure a single successful block in the second set. 

The Cougars opened the third set with two unanswered points, the first of which came from a Panda attacking error and the second from a Boyd ace. MRU then made a few attacking errors that allowed Alberta to claw back into the set and take a 7-6 lead. Boyd’s defensive efforts helped the Cougars keep the game close as she picked up a pair of blocks, including a solo rejection midway through the set. However, the Pandas soon expanded their lead once again and stayed in front for the rest of the set, delivering MRU a 19-25 loss and sweeping the Cougars for the second straight time. 

Boyd was named Player of the Game for her epic statistical performance, racking up six kills, one assist, two aces, two digs, one solo block, and one block assist for a total of nine points in her final game on Kenyon Court.