Cougars play No. 2 Trinity Western tough, but fall in four to Spartans

QUICKLY
The University of Regina’s women’s volleyball team battled toe-to-toe with the No. 2-ranked Trinity Western Spartans for most of the night, but ended up falling in four sets on Friday night in a Canada West match in front of 585 fans at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The first set appeared to be headed Trinity Western’s way after the Spartans went up 19-12 to force Regina’s second timeout, but the Cougars responded with the next four points and six of the next seven coming out of the break. The U of R got to within one point of TWU on three different occasions late in the set, but couldn’t tie it up and the visitors took the opening set by a 25-23 margin.
• The second set saw the Cougars go on an 8-2 run to turn what had been a four-point Trinity Western lead into a 22-20 advantage for Regina. The Cougars had three opportunities at set point but couldn’t convert, and Trinity Western made good on its second chance at set point on a Jayda Harder ace that gave the Spartans a 29-27 victory.
• In the third set, the two teams combined for eight tie scores and four lead changes before the Cougars finally broke through at the end of the set following a late timeout at 23-23. Samantha Krausher hammered a kill down the line from the left side, then Bailey Balaberda and Piper Harkness combined to block an attack from Trinity Western’s right that the Spartans weren’t able to fully recover from. That gave the Cougars a 25-23 win and pushed the match to four sets.
• It was all Trinity Western in the fourth set. The Spartans jumped out to a 16-5 lead and cruised to a 25-12 win to clinch their seventh win in as many Canada West matches this season.

NOTES

• Balaberda had 16 kills and led all players with 15 digs for the Cougars.
• Harkness put down eight kills and led all players with a .467 hitting percentage.
• Jordy McEachern had 8 kills, 14 digs, and 6 blocks.
• Cassadi Klapak dished out 36 assists, added 12 digs for a double-double, and had 3 service aces.
• Samantha Krausher not only made her Canada West debut, but got the start for the Cougars and finished with six kills and four digs before leaving early in the fourth set with an injury.
• Maryn Boldon had a match-high 18 kills and hit .343 for Trinity Western.

NEXT UP
The Cougars will get another chance at Trinity Western on Saturday night at the CKHS. First serve is again set for 6:00 PM.