WVB: Cougars swept by Pandas in three back-and-forth sets

The final weekend of the MRU Cougars’ women’s volleyball season began on Valentine’s Day as they hosted the University of Alberta Pandas on Kenyon Court. MRU looked determined to find a Friday night win, but conceded an 0-3 sweep at home (21-25, 20-25, 17-25). 

Both teams opened the first set with winning intentions, trading points in long, high-effort rallies. Neither team could seize clear control of the set as the point differential never exceeded two points. Bronwynn Davies-Neira was on fire early, killing the ball on every perfect Lexi Herrod set she saw. MRU held the lead early in the set, but the Pandas took the lead halfway through behind their hustling digging and precise floaters that picked the Cougars’ defense apart. With the score at 23-21 in favour of the Pandas, MRU put on a brilliant hustling effort to extend the rally, but committed an attacking error. On the next rally, Davies-Neira swung her arm with strength to try and secure a kill, but was blocked by the Pandas’ front line as the Cougars lost the first set 21-25. 

Davies-Neira put on an absolute clinic, tallying five kills, a service ace and her team’s only block with a solo rejection in the closely contested set.

The Cougars scored their first three points of the second set on kills, but faced retaliation from the Pandas, who worked their way back into a 4-4 tie. The Pandas soon opened up a 5-0 run behind their powerful killing abilities and staunch blocking, giving them a 9-4 lead. Emma Boyd responded quickly, turning a precise set from Herrod into an unstoppable kill. An attack error from the Pandas followed by a perfectly placed service ace from Davies-Neira cut MRU’s deficit to just two points, with the scoreline at 9-7. 

MRU gained significant momentum from these plays as they soon closed the gap to just one point behind a pair of kills from Megan Jones. MRU continued to play with swagger as Herrod faked a set before sending a lookaway floater over the Pandas’ front line. Boyd served up a perfect ace off of the net to tie the game and on the next rally, Sydney Scatcherd took the lead with a powerful shot into the Alberta back line. 

Alberta stopped the bleeding by cashing in on an MRU error, but Morgan kept her team in front with a pair of perfect kills, including one that ricocheted off the face of a Panda blocker. Alberta soon called for a timeout with the score at 16-14 in MRU’s favour and scored twice before committing a service error, allowing the Cougars to retain their narrow advantage. Alberta took the lead back moments later, scoring three unanswered points to take a 20-18 lead and force Rhonda Schmuland to call a timeout. 

Coming out of the timeout, both teams committed service errors, keeping the score differential at just two points. However, the Pandas soon secured a pair of clutch kills and forced a second Cougars timeout. MRU played through a long rally but couldn’t score as Alberta struck the set-winning kill past the Cougars’ front line to hand MRU a 20-25 loss in the second set. 

Davies-Neira focused more of her attention on the defensive end in the second set, picking up a team-high six digs. Mya Morgan took the reins on offence, scoring three kills and dropping one assist. 

Morgan opened up the third set with a powerful punch, scoring a kill and giving her team the early lead. Alberta retaliated by scoring a trio of points and taking the lead, but Morgan refused to let the Pandas run away with it as she scored yet another kill. The Pandas scored another two points, the first of which came from a kill aimed at the Cougars’ back line and the second from a service ace, but soon committed a service error as the score differential stayed at one to two points through the early parts of the set. However, Alberta tightened up their screws and took a five point lead. 

MRU refused to let the game get away from them as a Scatcherd block and a Davies-Neira drop-shot kill brought the set scoreline to 11-13. Scatcherd continued to hustle for her team, diving for a serve reception that turned into a speedy kill from Morgan. Boyd and Davies-Neira kept their blocking clinic open in the late stages of the set to keep the score close as both teams traded points in long rallies, but Alberta soon opened a 3-0 run to take a five point lead and force an MRU timeout. 

The Pandas scored two unanswered points with a pair of cleverly placed floaters coming out of the timeout and even though the Cougars responded behind a Jones kill, Alberta closed the set out on a 4-2 run and handed MRU a 17-25 loss to complete their Friday night sweep.

Lexi Herrod was named Player of the Game for her brilliant offensive performance as she scored two kills, dropped 23 assists, and dug out five Panda attacks to score two points in the loss.

The Cougars women’s volleyball team will play their final game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 15 as they host the University of Alberta Pandas at 5 p.m. on Kenyon Court and live on Canada West TV.