Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – There they were, taking it to the No. 3 team in U SPORTS when the moment almost became too good to be true.
With two set points on the table and a chance to win the opening set against the Mount Royal University Cougars, the young MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball team instead conceded a 4-0 run and lost 26-24.
It became the ultimate turning point on Friday as MRU cruised to a 3-0 victory after that (26-24, 25-16, 25-21).
"We were really excited to play No. 3 in the country because you need to play the best to see where you're at," said Griffins interim head coach Dusty Freimark. "We talked about how this isn't the end of our season, this is the beginning of our season for next year.
"So, we were really excited to play and going 24-26 with No. 3 in Canada, we should not have lost momentum. We started out and maybe they had already gone to 'oh, we might win this,' and then we didn't. Still, there's no excuse for us to not to compete. To be honest, there's a lot more on our side of the net that needs to be done tomorrow."
With the result, the Griffins fall to 4-19, while the Cougars improve to 18-5 with one more game remaining in the Canada West regular season for both teams.
Mariah Bereziuk led the Griffins with eight kills, two blocks and 11.0 points, while Andy Krawec had three service aces and Payton Shimoda had 25 assists.
W��| FINAL
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 18, 2023
A really nice rally off a Bronwyn Ettinger dig led to an Emma Brooks block that drew @MacEwanU closer in the third set.
But the Griffins will fall in straight sets tonight after dropping Set 3 25-21. @CanadaWest #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/H8yYymCRwv
MRU's towering 6-foot-3 middle blocker Nyadholi Thokbuom dominated the contest and was the linchpin behind why the visitors won, recording 13 kills on a .476 hitting percentage and accounting for a match-high 16.0 points. Haley Roe added 10 kills and two aces, while Quinn Pelland had 33 assists.
"We knew we had to serve aggressive to get her out of the play," said Freimark of Thokbuom, a Volleyball Canada NextGen team member. "We knew she was going to get her attacks. I've been playing against her since she was in Grade 10."
The Griffins blocked her a few times but will need to do an even stronger job against her in the rematch on Saturday (5:30 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
"We always need to have two people," said Freimark. "Our one outside blocker needs to make sure they trust the game plan and come in to help with that. I think we got a few blocks on her, so that's a pretty good night. There are just going to be times where she's over top of us."
MacEwan should have won the opening set as they took over the set early with a 6-0 run to gain a 12-10 lead and held the advantage all the way, taking a 24-22 lead to set point after Sarah McGee's kill. But Thokbuom put away a kill in the middle to get the Cougars within one before tough-serving Roe tied the set with an ace and later won it 26-24 on another ace.
W��| SET 1
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) February 18, 2023
Sarah McGee got rolling late in the first set with a couple nice kills, including this quick-hitter in the middle.
Visiting @MRUCougars dodge two set points and close on a 4-0 run to win the opening set 26-24.@CanadaWest #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/bYt6kyihTH
The air seemed to go out of MacEwan after that as MRU controlled Set 2, winning it handily on Thokbuom's hammer on their first set point opportunity.
The Griffins were better in Set 3, showing off some great blocking at times, but the Cougars were too much, ending the match on … you guessed it .. Thokbuom's smash in the middle.
Despite the loss, there were some positives for the Griffins, especially how they played for most of the first set against the second-place team in Canada West.
"Of course, everyone came out with a purpose, everyone followed the game plan," said Freimark. "There were a few things that shouldn't have scored on us because we knew it was happening. That's just that inexperience. Reminding these athletes right now in their young brains – you have to be focused every contact.
"As soon as you rest, the team takes advantage of that. I think that's what got exposed today. But there's so much good in this team. They just haven't realized what they're capable of doing yet."
