The MRU Cougars had a busy weekend, with five of their teams playing a combined total of 10 games in three days and coming away with nine wins. In the midst of the Cougars’ successes, two athletes separated themselves from the rest to earn Players Bench Athlete of the Week honours. Find out who took home this week’s awards below.
Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week: Mya Morgan (WVB)
The MRU Cougars women’s volleyball team earned two wins in their road series against the University of Regina Cougars. Mya Morgan, who finished the weekend with 19.5 points, played brilliantly on both sides of the net, killing with ease and defending with relentless energy.
Morgan’s dominant weekend started on Friday night as she scored 10 kills on 19 attacks, posting a highly efficient kill rate of 42.1 per cent and even serving up an ace. She was also a defensive demon, digging out three Regina attacks in MRU’s 3-1 victory against Regina.
If that wasn’t impressive enough, Morgan proved she had more to give with her performance on Saturday night; offensively, Morgan posted an even more efficient kill rate of 46.2 per cent as she scored seven kills on 13 attempts. She also played suffocating defence picking up a solo block and a block assist to go along with four digs.
In MRU’s two wins against Regina, Morgan put up a total of 17 kills, one block, one ace, seven digs, and 19.5 points. Morgan and the MRU Cougars women’s volleyball team will return to action against the MacEwan University Griffins on Friday, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. on Kenyon Court and live on Canada West TV.
Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week: Sam Barnie (MBB)
Sam Barnie has been a consistent force for the MRU Cougars men’s basketball team all season long, averaging 9.6 points per game this year. However, the forward tallied 41 points to help MRU split their weekend series against the Brandon University Bobcats last week.
On Friday night, the Cougars came away with a narrow 77-72 victory in Brandon; Barnie led the team in scoring with 18 points, making one of his team’s four three-pointers and shooting 6-14 from the field as well as 5-6 from the free throw line. Barnie’s play reached another level in the fourth quarter, scoring nine of the Cougars’ 24 points in the final period. He also grabbed seven rebounds and picked up two steals in MRU’s five-point win.
MRU scored the same number of points on Saturday night, but couldn’t secure a win as they took a 77-86 loss against Brandon. Barnie was still on fire, though, scoring 23 points on 9-13 shooting, including 3-6 from three-point range, and dropping three assists with just one turnover. Twelve of Barnie’s points came in the fourth quarter as he swished home four of his five field goal attempts, including two of his three attempts from three-point range. His defense took a step up, too, as he picked up six rebounds and a block in the Cougars’ loss.
Over the Cougars’ two games against the Bobcats, Barnie totaled 41 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block, and four three-pointers. Catch Barnie and the MRU Cougars men’s basketball team in action again when they host the University of Calgary Dinos on Friday, Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. on Kenyon Court and live on Canada West TV.