Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – After practising and playing short-handed for basically the last month, the grind finally caught up to the MacEwan Griffins men's volleyball team in a straight sets loss to Mount Royal on Saturday.
Fatigue was evident as the squad with only 10 healthy players due to an unfair wave of injuries fell 25-18, 25-14, 25-16 to a MRU team unhappy they had to play five sets against MacEwan a night earlier.
"I think we had our chance last night, whether Mount Royal underestimated us or we caught them on a bad night," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski, whose squad fell 3-2 on Friday. "It's unfortunate not to seize that opportunity. Really happy to get a point out of it. When we got that 2-0 lead, we were full marks for it. We made points when it mattered.
"But tonight, obviously, we had their attention. When you're training with 10 guys, I thought we've done an OK job as far as managing our load, but maybe we haven't because we did look very gassed tonight. I thought it showed mentally, almost as much as physically.
"I know we didn't really play our system," he added. "I saw guys freelancing. It looked very much like drop-in rec. It didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason. So, we were a step behind all night. They're a good team and they put their boots to us."
With the result, MacEwan falls to 0-8, while MRU improves to 6-2.
Injuries have forced the Griffins to start three rookies the last couple weekends and it would have been four on Saturday if Brendon Lord hadn't gutted it, playing through an injury that had him heavily taped up. He still managed to lead the Griffins with nine kills.
"He's not anywhere near 100 per cent," said Poplawski. "For him to go out there and do some stuff, I appreciate that. (If he doesn't go), my fourth-string middle has to go play left side. This has been a joke of a semester for injuries. But the guys, not once, have used that as an excuse and I do give them a lot of credit for that. I probably talk about it more than they have.
"I appreciate Brendon gutting it out. I know he's not the only guy battling stuff. The guys know we're in a tough spot here. Credit to him for going tonight. I know he gave us everything he had."
Brendon Lord dunks one for a key kill in the first set as @MacEwanGriffins try to claw back from an early deficit.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/RGIWWFVnh8
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Volleyball Team (@GriffinsMVB) November 16, 2025
Lord also received a yellow card in the second set when he "accidentally" took a little too long to retrieve a wayward ball from the stands, which gave Griffins teammates a few extra precious seconds to catch their breath.
There was little of that as MRU came out determined to get the job done quickly after the Griffins surprised them on Friday. Their dominant play at the net came in waves and was the difference in the match.
"Obviously, they're a big, physical team," said Poplawski. "I don't care if they hit over our block, but a lot of times our block wasn't in the right spots. We weren't identifying where the ball was.
"When you get tired, it shows in your eyes, and your eye sequence falls apart. In volleyball, especially, blocking is an eye-piece sport. When you're mentally tired, that read is very slow or you skip steps and miss things. I thought how often our block wasn't in the right spots that guys were probably fatigued."
Kale Orr led MRU with 11 kills, while Kai Toney had 10 kills and 10 digs. Oliver Profili recorded eight kills, three aces and six digs.
Two points in a row for Spencer Loucks!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Volleyball Team (@GriffinsMVB) November 16, 2025
Nice sequence mid-second set from the middle blocker.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/EcgeNdkTT3
"It's been a long semester with basically 10 players," said Poplawski. "We're 45 practices into the year and eight matches – it could be they're a bit worn down. I was hoping we managed our load tonight, but maybe not.
"It just came to a head tonight. Mount Royal's probably not happy they went five last night and them coming out and playing a physical game that we didn't know how to respond to."
The Griffins at least now will get some extra rest as they head into a bye week.
