Holmes leads Pandas to sweep of Bobcats

EDMONTON – Pandas fourth-year hitter Emma Holmes finished with a game and Canada West career-high 13 kills in a major breakout game as the Pandas swept the Brandon Bobcats 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22) Friday night at the Saville Centre.

The Pandas (4-1) bounce back from their first loss of the season against the Winnipeg Wesmen, and still sit in third place in the Canada West. The Bobcats (0-5) are left still searching for their first win of the season.

Fourth-year Pandas hitter Lauryn Tremblay would aid in the winning effort with a great all-around game; finishing with seven kills to go with two aces, 10 digs, and one block. The offensive leader for the Bobcats was second-year hitter Avery Burgar who paced her team with 12 kills and an impressive, game-high .417 hitting percentage.

The first set started equally, with the teams battling all the way to a 10-10 tie early on. Second-year Bobcats hitter Keely Anderson led the way for Brandon with some efficient attacks, while rookie Laila Johnston paced the Pandas with a couple kills at the first timeout. However, the Pandas would shift into a higher gear the rest of the way outscoring the Bobcats 15-8 to win the set 25-18. Johnston led all players with five kills to go with an eye-popping .833 hitting percentage in the set. The Bobcats would struggle in the second half with their serves, committing four service errors to the Pandas two.

Two players, Alberta’s Emma Holmes and the Bobcats’ Anderson, dominated the start of the second set. Holmes had three kills in the first five points to lead the Pandas to a quick 5-1 margin; however Anderson would serve three straight aces to help the Bobcats back to a 6-5 lead. It would be mostly Alberta from there, with the Pandas third-ranked CW offence hitting to the tune of a .400 percentage in the set en route to a 25-15 win. Holmes led the set with six kills, while Johnston added a kill and two blocks.

The third and final set was one that Brandon started strong in. Burgar had two kills early to put the Bobcats up 7-6 over an error-ridden Pandas squad. However, Pandas second-year setter Justine Kolody kept feeding phenomenal passes around the Alberta attack to continue their dominance in the game. Holmes had five kills down the stretch as the Pandas would handle the Bobcats 25=22 in the set to lead to a 3-0 match win. The Bobcats would make the set interesting though, with a game-high .308 hitting percentage in the set and battling back to what was at one point a 21-18 game late in the set.

The Pandas and Bobcats will play the second game of the season series tomorrow night at the Saville Centre.