Bears win late-night thriller against Cougars in five sets

EDMONTON – Rookie Isaac Heslinga led a clinical Golden Bears attack that helped to defeat the Mount Royal Cougars in five exciting sets (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 22-25, 15-11) Friday night at the Saville Centre.

Heslinga was not alone, as third-year Jordan Canham and second-year middle Billy Johnstone were also impressive, the latter with 17 kills.

Jacob van Geel and Chris Byam paced the Cougs with 20 and 18 kills, respectively.

The win further cements Alberta’s (14-3) Central division win, while the Cougars (7-10) become guaranteed a below-.500 record and third place in the division.

The entertaining first set featured fiery, efficient attacks from both sides. A dominant second half led the Bears to a 25-21 set victory. Alberta’s Canham led the set with five kills, with setter Max Elgert orchestrating 12 assists. Byam, third in the Canada West in kills per set, paced the Cougs with three.

The Golden Bears really hit their stride in the second set with the top-ranked CW offence committing just two errors to 15 kills to win the set 25-16.

Heslinga, who leads all CW first-years in kills, had a set-high five of his own. Both teams had committed just 13 combined errors to this point, and in the second set alone they combined for a massive 32 digs.

The Cougars regrouped for the third set, the lead see-sawing between the two teams up until the final kill. van Geel and Byam were instrumental in the set victory for Mount Royal, each recording five kills. The frame required extras and ended with a 26-24 advantage for MRU.

The efficient Alberta attack evaporated in the third, posting a game-low .103 hitting percentage.

The teams were not done in the fourth set, with just one error committed between the two teams from 0-0 to a Golden Bears timeout at 18-17 Cougars. Byam and Mount Royal would take it the rest of the way for a 25-22 victory.

The Cougars did not commit an error in the fourth set, against 18 kills for an astounding .514 hitting percentage. The injection of Jackson Brennan, fifth-year setter for the Cougars, had an impact on the Mount Royal attack.

The final set began with a 5-2 Alberta run that was punctuated by a Cam Kern block.

While three straight service errors almost sunk their case, the Golden Bears squeaked out a 15-11 set and game win.

While the Cougars defence was stout, it was just not a match for a Bears offence that pumped out 63 kills amongst a .351 hitting percentage.

Elgert, the CW leader in assists per set, had another good night running the Bears offence recording 52 assists.

This game had no playoff implications, as both teams are locked into their postseason pool; the Bears hosting Pool B, while the Cougars head to Langley in Pool A.

The teams play their last game of the regular season tomorrow at 5:00 PM at the Saville Centre.