Cougars battle back, win marathon match over Heat

SASKATOON — The Mount Royal Cougars women’s volleyball team showed why they’re ranked number-six in the nation, recording a resilient 3-2 win (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-27, 15-10) over the UBCO Heat at the Physical Activity Complex.

After taking the first two sets, the Cougars fell in the third and fourth went the Heat’s way setting up a fifth-and-final frame. But it was Mount Royal who responded, ending the match on a 6-2 run.

“They’re such a tough opponent and we knew it wasn’t going to be over until the last ball hit the floor. We were expecting a battle and UBCO played a great game. We’re pretty fortunate we came out on top,” said Cougars head coach Shane Smith. “I think we were patient. We hung in there and we were able to use that at the end to score the last few points.”

Madison Marshall led the way for the Cougars, with a massive 19-kill stat line on .400 hitting-percentage, to go along with eight digs.

“She’s been huge all year. She’s a leader for us and seems to do that every game. She’s just fabulous to have with our group,” said Smith.

Five different Cougars notched a service ace, with Jessica Osczveski leading the way with three of the team’s nine aces on the night.

A back-and-forth win in set 3 for UBCO forced an opportunity for what was a miraculous comeback from the Heat. After trailing 21-14, then 23-19, UBCO was able to battle back. A Mount Royal out of rotation forced 24-24 to tie it up, then a pair of kills from Amaya Perry and Jade Bussard, and ultimately a Nataliia Klimenova service ace forced a fifth set.

But Mount Royal was able to weather the storm and escape in the fifth and record the win in their playoff opener.

The Heat were led by Jade Bussard and Sydney Grillls who had 21 and 21 kills apiece and finished with a .272 hitting-percentage.

“Our team played great,” said Heat head coach Steve Manuel.

“I thought we had chances to win all five sets and we let them off the hook a bunch of times. They’re a great team and you can’t really afford to do that.”

Mount Royal will look to begin their postseason with back-to-back wins as they battle the Manitoba Bisons tomorrow night in Saskatoon, with first serve scheduled for 8:00 CST.

“It’s a really tough tournament,” said Smith. “We need to try to get some sleep and prepare for Manitoba tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, the Heat will get back in action on Friday night, as they look for their first win of the playoffs against the Saskatchewan Huskies at 6:00 p.m. CST.

“We’ve played six matches in nine days and now we’re back here again — we’re used to it. We’ll be fine,” said Manuel. “We’ll prep for tomorrow. We’ll come out and battle again and see what happens.”

All the action can be seen on CanadaWest.TV presented by Co-op.