The University of Alberta Golden Bears rolled into Kenyon Court and ended the Mount Royal University Cougars’ two2 game win streak. The reigning 2022-23 champions recovered from a 2-0 set deficit to win the match 3-2 (25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 19-25, 14-16).
In the first set, the Cougars opened with a sense of urgency that was simply unmatchable, starting their night off with a 4-1 run. From that point, both teams traded kills back and forth, as well as service errors, and maintained a close rivalry. Mount Royal’s Chris Byam shined in this set with six kills, and his unselfish teammate Samson Olsen chipped in six assists to help the Cougars win 25-23.
The second set was a strong defensive performance for the Cougars as Jovan Stepanovic and Luis Lange blocked several kill attempts, allowing Olsen to set up Byam like Kobe setting up Shaq for alley-oops as the Cougars would put the defending champions in a 2-0 hole with a 25-21 set victory.
The Bears would get off to an early 3-1 lead in the third set thanks to devastating blocking on Cougars kill attempts. Bears hitter Isaac Heslinga’s 13 kills by the end of this set, supplemented by setter Sam Drybrough’s 31 assists, helped secure a dominant 25-17 set win for their team.
The fourth set was more of the same story as the Golden Bears’ digging started to improve. Byam and Jacob van Geel were the standout offensive forces for the Cougars as their combined 25 kills made up 64% of their team’s total kills by the end of the set. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears were firing on all cylinders, posting 15 kills as they won the set 25-19.
The Golden Bears’ championship mentality gave them an edge in the game-deciding fifth set, even as the Cougars tied the game at 12 with outstanding defense and blocking. Byam put the Cougars on his back as he ended the game with 21 kills, 12 more than anyone else on his team, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Golden Bears would stay composed and win 16-14, giving them a 3-2 game victory.
Jace Timmer was named Cougar of the Game thanks to his team-leading 37.5% kill rate.
The Cougars seek redemption as they rematch the Golden Bears in front of their home crowd at Mount Royal University’s Kenyon Court tomorrow at 7 P.M. MST.
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