Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — The MacEwan Griffins have had some heartbreaking losses this season, but they were determined to not add another one to that list.
The Griffins showed a ton of heart and grit in a thrilling five set victory (25-21, 26-24, 21-25, 22-25, 15-11) over the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack Friday night at the David Atkinson gymnasium.
It marked the Griffins' third win of the season, and first on home court.
Mariah Bereziuk led the Griffins with 15 kills and 10 digs, while Andi Krawec chipped in with 11 kills and 12 digs in the win, while TRU's Brooklyn Olfert put in a tremendous performance with 25 kills, 20 digs and six aces in the WolfPack's loss.
"We're used to the ups and downs, but today we weren't ready to let go of it," said Griffins setter Payton Shimoda.
"Especially after that really tough call at the end of the fourth set, we had so much fire under our butts and we were ready to win that fifth set."
There have been pivotal moments in games this season that have come back to bite MacEwan in some of their losses, but everything came together for the Griffins in their win against TRU.
W��| VICTORY!��@MacEwanU beats @GoTRUWolfPack 3-2, claiming Set 5 15-11 on a tough serve by Andi Krawec that ends in an attack error.
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 4, 2023
Stay tuned for a recap, detailing the Griffins' first @CanadaWest home win of the season!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/GTI9MOzH0K
They had one of their strongest serving games of the season. There were no big mental errors and while the play of their middles (Dana Dunbar and Sarah McGee) has been solid all year, it was one full display as they out blocked TRU 19-5.
"Their (middles) effort was huge for us, and they really came through. They really trusted the game plan and it showed and I think they'll see the results of this and build off of it," said Griffins interim head coach Dusty Freimark.
"Going into that fifth set, the girls looked more confident than they have in a while. I really feel they believed in themselves today, and I don't know if I could say that at times this year."
The Griffins controlled the play in the opening set and led almost the entire way. While TRU was able to go on a couple of 4-0 and 5-0 runs to keep within striking distance, but MacEwan didn't let their play slip.
In the second set, TRU came out and took a 7-2 lead early, but once MacEwan found their footing they went on a nice run of their own, capped off by an ace from McGee to tie it at 10-10.
MacEwan would lead 19-18, before TRU went on another mini run to lead 22-19, and that's when Freimark went to her bench and brought in Madison Hoppus to serve. The second-year outside hitter came through in the clutch as the Griffins went on a run to 24-22 lead, before taking the set 26-24.
The Griffins service game was strong with eight aces, and when they needed a big serve, they got it from multiple players.
"I have to give a big shoutout to Madi and Bronwyn (Ettinger), they came in the late stages (of sets) and really battled. I trust them, and they came through," said Freimark.
TRU wasn't going to go away easily. Despite being down for most of the third set, they battled their way back to tie the set at 19-19. An ace from Abby Spratt gave the Wolfpack a spark and they closed out the third set on a 6-2 run.
W��| SET 4
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 4, 2023
Nice block by Mariah Bereziuk and Dana Dunbar off a solid Payton Shimoda serve, but @MacEwanU drops the late points in Set 4, falling 25-22 to @GoTRUWolfPack. That ties this one up 2-2 and we're heading to a fifth set.@CanadaWest #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/fzRD7Jcodp
The fourth set was a back-and-forth affair. MacEwan led early, but TRU eventually took a 7-6 lead and were in control, but MacEwan continued to scratch and claw their way back into the set.
A block from Bereziuk and another one moments later from Dunbar, would give MacEwan a 22-20 lead, but then they ran into the red-hot serving of Olfert, who connected on back-to-back aces. She had four of her game-high six aces in the fourth set.
"Her spin serve really killed us. We have a spin machine in practice that tries to replicate it, but credit to her, she had us in all kinds of trouble with her serve," said Shimoda.
TRU certainly had all the momentum going into the fifth set, but the Griffins were determined to not let the victory slip away.
They came out and dominated the fifth set, taking an 8-3 lead. A strong block from Krawec and McGee pushed their lead to 13-7, and they closed it out with another block from McGee.
"This win is huge confidence wise. It shows a lot of growth for our team and we can build off this for the rest of the year," said Shimoda.
"There's always been that sense of belief, but it's been about patience and the waiting has been discouraging, but Dusty reinforces to us every game that we can win, and it's nice to get that result tonight."
