Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – If the Griffins women's volleyball team is to make a push for a playoff spot, they would realistically need to win both matches against the University of Regina Cougars this weekend.
Currently, the Cougars are tied for the 10th and final post-season berth in Canada West at 4-10, so with a pair of wins, the Griffins could pull within two games of them.
That's not to say the task isn't difficult as fellow 4-10 team UBC Okanagan, 3-11 Calgary and 1-11 Brandon are all vying for that last spot, too, and all are ahead of 0-12 MacEwan.
But, the Griffins are playing their best volleyball of the season right now, boosted by the healthy returns of starters Payton Shimoda and Kara Frith, who both missed some time in the first semester with injuries.
"The last month since we've returned some players to the roster because of injury, I think we've been playing at a pretty high level," said head coach Chris Wandler. "We didn't get the results we wanted last weekend, but I think we played pretty solid in all phases of our team play."
They gave 7-7 Saskatchewan all they could handle last weekend, losing the fourth set on Saturday 36-34 to fall 3-1 in a match that was there for the taking.
"We did have five or six opportunities for that set win (actually seven set points) and the match could have gone either way, I thought, the direction it was going," said Wandler. "I think we had a good reset this week. We didn't let the result dictate our training this week.
"I think what we learned is we have to move on. We have to keep learning and growing. We can't dwell on 'oh, we should have had that, we should have had this.' But be ready for that moment to happen again, and I'm sure it will. I think we'll come out the other side."
On Tap
Friday: vs. Regina, 5 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV
Saturday: vs. Regina, 3 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV
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Last meeting
Nov. 25, 2023: MacEwan 3 at Regina 0
Last game
Jan. 18: MacEwan 1 at Saskatchewan 3
Jan. 18: Mount Royal 3 at Regina 0
2024-25 records
MacEwan: 0-12 – 14th
Regina: 4-10 – T10th
Chris Wandler's coach's quote
"What I expect out of Regina is tons of scrappiness, for sure. We can expect them to serve the ball really well and make some big swings on the pins. Our job is to just do what we've been doing – transitioning the ball. We played some great defence last weekend and transitioned the ball using our middle blockers really well. I think that's going to be a big part of our game."
Players to watch
MacEwan: Payton Shimoda – Back healthy after not playing since Nov. 16, the Griffins' starting setter had 41 assists in Saturday's match at Saskatchewan last weekend, showing off the strong distribution skills that had her finish second in the conference in assists last season.
Regina – Cassadi Klapak – The fourth-year setter not only excels distributing the ball as she's 11th in the conference in assists/set, she's also one of the top servers in Canada West, leading the Cougars with 22 aces so far this season. That's tied for the fifth-most in the conference.
Notable
The MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball teams from 1979-81 will be inducted into the Wall of Distinction following Saturday's contest. They finished with a 41-1 regular season record over that time, winning back-to-back CCAA silver medals and ACAC Championships … The Griffins have a 9-5 lifetime record against the Regina Cougars since entering Canada West in 2014.
