Bears battle for 3-1 victory over MacEwan in exciting match

EDMONTON – Isaac Heslinga had a game-high 16 kills to lead the Golden Bears to a 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-20) set victory over the MacEwan Griffins in an Edmonton rivalry game Friday night at the Saville Centre.

The game marks the 16th straight victory for the U SPORTS #1 ranked squad, with Heslinga joined by two other Bears, Jordan Canham and Braedon Friesen in the double-digit kills column.

The Griffins, hot off of their first win of the season, drop to 1-16. They were paced by Alexei Walisser who had 11 kills in the match.

The game got off to a roaring start, with both squads firing on all cylinders en-route to a 7-7 deadlock. They hit a combined .411 at the midway point in the set, and it was neck-and-neck until 4-0, 10-1 consecutive runs led the Bears to a 25-15 victory. The Bears were paced by Isaac Heslinga who finished with a set-high five kills, while the Griffins saw a good set from Alexei Walisser who had three.

Thanks to some outstanding play by setter Mason Natras, who had two kills to start the set, the Griffins came out of the break charged. They led the Canada-West leading hosts at 9-8, and were generally able to manage the ferocious Alberta attack. However, some errors caught up to them as Heslinga and standout Jordan Canham got in their groove to lead Alberta to a 25-19 set victory. Braedon Friesen got the Saville Centre rocking with a flying spike from the backline to put the set out of reach. The Bears hit an efficient .490 in the set.

Alberta would continue their momentum throughout the third set, getting up early and coasting through most of the set. However, the Griffins would slowly chip away at the Alberta lead until taking a surprise 24-23 lead that they would immediately capitalize on for a 25-23 win. Walisser paced the team with two kills.

The teams would continue to ping-pong back and forth in the final set, setting up an exciting finish. The Bears top-ranked attack evaporated, as the Griffins block line was more than eager to meet them at the net. They finished with 4 blocks in the set, but were unable to get past self-inflicted errors as Alberta took the set and game, 25-20.

The teams go to battle again tomorrow night at the Saville Centre for their last matchup of the year.