Griffins set to commence second semester action with several challenges ahead of them vs. MRU

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Exhibition games, which were cancelled because of the fifth wave of the COVID pandemic, would certainly have helped sharpen a MacEwan Griffins women’s volleyball team returning to action for the first time in 48 days this weekend.

That’s not the only wrinkle thrown at them as cases surge in the province.

With the possibility of players entering COVID protocols at the drop of a hat, the Griffins (0-8) don’t exactly know who they’ll be preparing for when they visit the Mount Royal University Cougars (6-2) on Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m., both Canada West TV presented by Co-op).

The ability to adapt on the fly will be more important than ever.

“The tough part right now is ‘who am I planning for? I don’t know who’s in Mount Royal’s COVID protocol,” said MacEwan head coach Ken Briggs. “There’s no video. We know they have one of the best players in Western Canada who’s coming back in the second term.”

That would be 6-foot-3 middle blocker Nyadholi Thokbuom – a national team prospect – who touches higher than anyone in Canada West.

“But I don’t know if she’s back,” said Briggs.

So, all the Griffins can really do for sure is focus on themselves. They’ve logged more than two weeks of practice since returning from Christmas break and will be ready to go.

“We have a chance to win every weekend,” stressed Briggs. “The difference right now for us is just our mistakes and learning how to (prevent them). All we do now is talk about decision making.”

That’s a new phase in the development path of a young Griffins squad that boasts 16 players in their first year of U SPORTS eligibility and were more focused on technique and systems early in the season.

“You have to make a decision based on what’s happening,” said Briggs. “And they’re so young. That’s the hardest thing to learn. They’re getting better.

“And we challenge them every practice,” he continued. “Every drill, every time we play, there’s a thinking component – make a choice. Of course, in volleyball, the ball’s only in the air for a fraction of a second and you’ve got to make a choice. That’s our sport. It’s a rebound sport, not a possession sport.

“That’s fun to watch the lights go on, but it’s just trying to build that consistency to understand the game. It’s coming, day by day.”

The last time they faced MRU on Nov. 26-27, the Cougars – ranked fifth in U SPORTS – beat the Griffins 3-0 in back-to-back matches, holding MacEwan below the 20-point threshold in all but one of the six sets.

So, a clear sign of progression for MacEwan this weekend would be to improve upon that. They were, after all, playing their best volleyball of the season right before the semester break when they pushed the Alberta Pandas in a four-set loss Dec. 4.

“You take a month off from when you played very well and you’re not quite back to square one, but it takes a while to get back when you don’t get reps for three or four weeks,” said Briggs. “We’re back now and now it’s just building on the thinking game.

“I think we’ve gone past the ‘woe is me’ and ‘we don’t stand a chance’ (phase).”