Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — It will go down in the books as another loss, but the MacEwan Griffins certainly have a lot to build on with their performance against the powerhouse Trinity Western Spartans.
They showed they can compete with one of the best teams in the country in their straight sets loss (26-24, 25-14, 25-22) on Saturday night at David Atkinson gymnasium.
Alexei Walisser led the Griffins with 10 kills and four aces, while Jefferson Morrow recorded nine kills and seven digs in the loss.
Brodie Hofer led the Spartans with 15 kills, two aces and eight digs as TWU improved to 11-1, while the Griffins enter the Christmas break, winless at 0-12.
“I liked our response this weekend. There were times where we were down six or seven points and we closed that gap and we showed we can compete,” said Walisser.
“We didn’t roll over at any point this weekend. We showed we can compete with any team in this league, and I know we haven’t got that first win yet, but it’s clear that we’re capable of doing what we want to do, it’s about fine tuning that little bit and the results will come.”
After losing two close sets in their three-set loss on Friday, the Griffins came out strong once again. They capitalized on some service errors from the Spartans early and took a 12-11 lead midway through the opening set.
The Griffins continued to push the Spartans and held a 24-23 lead on a Walisser kill, but weren’t able to complete the set win as Trinity Western rattled off three straight points to win the opening set.
“We definitely held our own. It just came down to the little things like stopping their serve runs on (Brodie) Hofer and getting our passes to the net, but it’s tough when they’re coming at you at that pace,” said Griffins outside hitter Daylan Andison, who recorded five kills in the loss.
Trinity Western pushed back hard in the second set and looked in full control, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead and they didn’t look back as they ramped up their potent offence and went on some solid scoring runs to never give the Griffins much of a chance to grab any momentum.
“We have to make note of those serving runs and get that side out,” said Andison.
“It’s easier said than done against a team like that, but it has to be done.”
Despite the tough second set loss, the Griffins didn’t back down and pushed back hard in the third set. They took a 6-4 lead on a Walisser ace, and held the lead to 12-11, but another ace from Hofer tied the set at 12-12.
The Spartans went on a 4-0 run to jump out to a 16-12 lead, but the Griffins didn’t fold. They continued to cut into the Spartans lead, and were down 24-22 after a kill from Walisser, but they weren’t able to get on a scoring run to close out the set.
“They came out swinging aggressively in the second (set), but we did a good job of leaving that behind and playing more like we did in the first set,” said Andison.
“We did a pretty good job of fighting back and showing what we can do. It’s tough (loss) to end the semester on, but they’re such a good team, but there’s lots of good stuff we can build on.”
It’s been a tough first semester for the winless Griffins, but they still have a strong belief, they can turn their season around.
“We got to use this Christmas break and take a bit of a mental break and focus on this second semester with a clear mind,” said Walisser.
“It’s time to build on what we’ve been working on and come back with fresh minds and really push these teams.”
The Griffins will return to action on Jan.6 when they travel to Winnipeg to take on the University of Manitoba Bisons for a weekend series.
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