Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – There have been some big wins in the David Atkinson Gym over the years.
Given the context, Saturday's was one of the most memorable.
Amid the backdrop of Senior Night and the storyline of a team with 15 rookies trying to halt a 17-game losing streak, the MacEwan Griffins knocked off the Calgary Dinos 3-2 (21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 17-25, 15-11) in Canada West women's volleyball action.
All of their emotions poured out in a wild celebration on the court after Mariah Bereziuk's kill ended the fifth-and-deciding set 15-11 in favour of MacEwan.
"It's surreal," said Bereziuk afterward. "We've been building up to it all year. Finally. Our last game we could finally put it away.
"We did it for Jordy's last game, so that meant a lot, too."
That would be graduating senior Jordyn Thomas, who was feted in a celebration following the contest that had extra mirth to it after the team finally got a result in the last match of the 2021-22 campaign.
MacEwan will finish the season 1-17 and out of the playoffs, but at least they ended on a high note, winning it for the serve-receive specialist, who was emotional in the aftermath.
"There are so many emotions right now," said Thomas, who has been with the Griffins since 2017. "I'm so happy. I couldn't ask for an ending like this. I'm so proud of my whole team. It was amazing."
Thomas finished with 10 digs in her final game as a Griffin, while Bereziuk led MacEwan with a match-high 14 kills, adding six digs and two blocks.
Jordyn Thomas had 10 digs in her final match as a Griffin (Eduardo Perez photo).
"We haven't had many people get into double figures," said Griffins head coach Ken Briggs. "We've kind of shared the load with mistakes and good play. She is going to be that girl. She's gaining some confidence. She has great athleticism and is going to be something special for a few years."
Calgary was led by Kenzie Vaandering, who had 10 kills a night after roasting the Griffins for 17.
"We held her to 10 and she had lots of errors because we did a better job," said Briggs. "We had to really fight through. They off-speed and tipped us for a while.
"The toughest thing for a young player is to not worry about it, just go, and understand when to go and what you're looking at."
After the Dinos took the opening set on an overbump, the Griffins began to get things together, controlling much of Set 2.
Alyshia Bryks came off the bench and rained down thundering kills, including one from the left side that ended an epic rally to put the Griffins up 23-18 and another to end the set 25-19.
Calgary controlled the early-goings of Set 3, but the Griffins twice fought back from 5-0 runs against and pulled ahead at 22-21 before coming up with the decisive point at 28-26 when Calgary's Evelyn Kath tipped one wide of the court.
The Dinos wouldn't make the same mistake in Set 4, racing out to a 16-9 lead at the technical timeout and never allowing MacEwan to gain life, finishing it off when Amelia Anderson went over the net chasing an overbump.
So, that set up a nail-biting fifth set that went back and forth until the late points as MacEwan broke open a 10-10 tie with a 5-1 run, ending it when Bereziuk's kill went off hands and out.
W��| FINAL
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 27, 2022
They've done it! It took until the final game of the @CanadaWest regular season, but the young @MacEwanU Griffins have their first win - a 3-2 triumph over the @UCDinos (21-25, 25-19, 28-26, 17-25, 15-11).
Stay tuned for a recap ...#GriffNation #SeniorNight pic.twitter.com/1xLXEojTNH
And the celebration began, including a large crowd filled with parents and supporters.
"Probably the most rewarding thing," said Briggs. "I just prayed for this. They needed something positive and it has nothing to do with volleyball. It's been a tough, tough two years (with the pandemic affecting everything to do with a university student-athlete's life) and you add on the volleyball (results) on top.
"I just wanted them to have that (winning) feeling. It was nice to see them battle."
Calgary will finish the campaign 5-13 after the defeat and head into the playoffs March 4-6 as the third seed in the Central Division. They are off to Langley, B.C. for Pool A play hosted by West Division champ Trinity Western.
For the Griffins, they get to go into the off-season on a high, which is very important for a young team that was using this season to grow for the future.
"I think it's a good stepping stone for next year," said Bereziuk. "It puts us on a little bit of a high coming into next season."
