After four games away from home and a bye week, the Cougars women’s volleyball team prepared to host the second-ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Kenyon Court. Despite entering the match with four consecutive wins, MRU could not overcome UBC as they took an 0-3 loss in their first home game of the month (16-25, 19-25, 21-25).
The Cougars started the first set off with tenacity, opening the slate with a 10-6 run. UBC responded with urgency, enacting a 13-3 run of their own. Most of the Cougars’ points came from Thunderbird errors, with MRU only managing seven kills by virtue of Mya Morgan, Sydney Scatcherd, and Bronwynn Davies-Neira.
The Cougars put up a valiant fight, but UBC closed on a 7-3 run, winning the first set 25-16. With no Lexi Herrod in the lineup, Marie Leggett proved her merit as a setter, finding five assists on her team’s seven kills.
UBC carried their momentum into the start of the second set, which they opened with a 6-1 run. MRU extended a number of rallies, putting in multiple efforts on each possession and keeping the set score close. Scatcherd and Davies-Neira kept their hands hot as they led the team in kills, helping the Cougars start a comeback effort as they trailed 12-10 halfway through the set.
That awakened the Thunderbirds, who forced Rhonda Schmuland to call a timeout as they re-extended their lead to 18-11 via serve aces, kills, and attack attempts that were nearly impossible for the Cougars to defend against.
MRU responded coming out of the timeout, closing the gap to just three points and forcing UBC to call a timeout of their own. However, despite diving digging efforts from Davies-Neira and Emma Boyd, as well as Scatcherd’s serial killing, the Cougars couldn’t complete the comeback, taking a 19-25 loss in the second set.
After opening the third set on an 8-3 run, the Thunderbirds ran into trouble trying to cool Scatcherd’s hands down. Unable to block her, they resorted to trying to score on the Cougars’ wall of defense, but fell short on that front as Morgan, Davies-Neira, and Boyd all stood tall in the face of the UBC’s best strikes and closed the gap to just three points, down 10-7.
Once again, the Cougars executed on their strategy of extending rallies, showing their superior stamina and dominating in long back-and-forths. Refusing to go away, MRU persisted behind the digging of Paige Davidson and Davies-Neira, but UBC remained in front, even if only by a few points.
As the set entered crunch time, the Cougars made a comeback charge, turning an eight-point deficit into a 23-21 scoreline. Down by just two points, Megan Jones and Davies-Neira were killing at a torrid pace while Davidson dug with all her might. However, their efforts fell just short of a comeback win as they took a 21-25 set loss and a 0-3 match loss.
Scatcherd took home Player of the Game honours thanks to her team-leading eight kills on a team-high 25 attack attempts. She also chipped in a block along with three digs on the defensive end, posting a team-best 8.5 points on the night.
The Cougars will look to exact revenge on Saturday, Nov. 23 as they take on the UBC Thunderbirds at 5 p.m. on Kenyon Court and live on Canada West TV.