MVB: Cougars swept by Golden Bears for second loss of the season

The Mount Royal Cougars men’s volleyball team was unable to execute on their revenge plans against the University of Alberta Golden Bears, who after completing a comeback down 2-0 on Friday, walked back onto Kenyon Court and swept the Cougars 3-0 (22-25, 19-25, 20-25).

MRU’s Max Haronga returned to his natural position of outside hitter tonight and made an impact right away in the first set, as he scored his team’s third third kill. Four Cougars ended up with multiple kills and three secured multiple digs, but Alberta’s Isaac Heslinga carried his Bears to a 25-22 set win with seven kills.

The game had a playoff-like level of intensity as the teams battled each other through the second set, diving on the floor for digs and soaring in the sky for kills. Luis Lange, Chris Byam and Jacob van Geel made their defensive presence felt as they built a wallGreat Wall of Cougars at the net, but it was not good enough to stop the Bears from keeping long rallies alive and turning them into perfectly placed pointskills. The Bears would win the second set 25-19 and put the Cougars in a 2-0 hole.

The Cougars fought hard in the third set as their kills landed inches away from the out-of-bounds lines, too fast for Alberta players to react to. Even their setting improved, but the Bears were able to block effectively and continued to hustle on the floor for digs, making Heslinga’s night easy as he ended the game with 17 kills. The Cougars made it close in the end, but after bringing it to a two-point difference, the Bears closed the set on a run, winning 25-20 and completing the sweep.

Jovan Stepanovic won Cougar of the Game for his unselfishness as he stepped into a new role and flourished as libero to allow Max Haronga to be outside hitter.

Next week, the Mount Royal Cougars head to Winnipeg to face the University of Manitoba Bisons on Nov. 17 at 7:45 P.M. MST.