Griffins scorched by Heat in straight-sets loss

MacEwan Athletics

KELOWNA, B.C. – The first road game of the Canada West regular season is one the MacEwan Griffins men’s volleyball team would like to forget.

They couldn’t turn the page fast enough after a 3-0 loss (25-16, 25-13, 25-22) to the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday night.

“We were just thoroughly beaten in every facet of the game tonight,” wrote head coach Brad Poplawski in a post-game text. “We weren’t ready to play and compete.”

After hitting percentages of .150 and -.158 in the opening two sets, the Griffins showed some battle in Set 3 (.308), but it was too little, too late.

UBCO, in contrast, went .636, .348 and .459, respectively in the three sets, scoring at will against the Griffins.

Rookie Mitchell Croft led the Griffins with 10 kills and 12.0 points, while Seth Birkholz had five kills on a .300 hitting percentage, accounting for 7.5 points.

Seba Manuel led the Heat with 11 kills and 13.0 points, while both Jack Taylor and Thys Weststrate chipped in 10 kills apiece.

With the result, the Griffins fall to 0-3 on the season, while the Heat, who were in their home opener, are 1-0.

The teams will meet again on Saturday (7 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).