EDMONTON – The University of Alberta Pandas raised their national championship banner and then pulled off a reverse sweep to beat the Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 on Friday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre, rallying from 2-0 down to win 16-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-13 in front of 1,509 fans.
Johnston paced the Pandas with 19 kills, while Gray had 14 kills on .345 hitting and Moore added 12 kills on .333 hitting. Setter Selima Guidara handed out 31 assists, and libero Misha Hameed led the back row with 19 digs.
The win moves the Pandas to 3-0 on the season, while Trinity Western falls to 2-1.
Trinity Western dominated the opening set from the start, jumping to an 8-3 lead and hitting .500 with no attack errors. The Spartans led by as many as 11 points before winning 25-16. The second set followed a similar script, with Alberta taking a 7-5 lead on a four-point run before Trinity Western answered with seven straight points to go ahead 12-7 and force the Pandas into two timeouts. Alberta hit .000 in the set, and the Spartans closed it out 25-19.
The Pandas flipped the match in the third set, hitting .364 with just one attack error. The set was tied through the middle, but Alberta ran off four straight points to lead 18-14 and later went up 22-17, with Laila Johnston and Sara Gray finishing at the net. Trinity Western made a late push with three straight points, but Alberta settled in and won the final two to take it 25-21.
The fourth set was tight throughout. After Trinity Western took a 14-13 lead and Alberta called a timeout, the Pandas rebounded and moved ahead 20-17 before the Spartans cut the lead to two. Alberta kept the Spartans at arm’s length down the stretch, and Allie Moore and Johnston closed out a 25-22 win to force a fifth set.
The decider was a tug of war. Alberta trailed early before pulling even at 3-3, and the teams traded points until a two-point run gave the Pandas a 10-8 lead. Trinity Western tied it up at 10, 11 and 12, but the Pandas had the last answer, winning the last three points to take it 15-13.
Alberta held a 11.0 to 4.0 advantage in blocks, led by seven block assists from Moore. Trinity Western outhit the Pandas .254 to .226 and finished with more kills, but Alberta won the points that mattered late in each of the final three sets.
The two teams will meet again Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m. at the Saville Community Sports Centre. Tickets are available at BearsAndPandas.ca/Tickets.