Julia Zonneveld led the Pandas with 17 kills, and 22 digs and Kory White with 16 kills, 15 digs, and four blocks, and Erin Corbett with 15 kills and 14 digs led the Pandas. TWU setter Olivia Heinen finished with 39 set assists to lead the Spartans, while Justine Kolody led the Pandas with 49 set assists.
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was a back-and-forth contest. The Pandas took the first three points and then led 4-1. The Spartans responded to lead 8-7. Then with TWU up by four points, 13-9, Alberta went on their own 5-0 run to lead 14-13. After trading points, the Spartans took the next three points to lead 18-15. The Pandas scrambled back to tie the set at 19-19. With the two teams tied at 21-21 the Spartans were able to take the final four points to take the set 25-21. In the set there were seven tied scores and five lead changes. Both teams hit at .216. TWU was 12-4-37, while Alberta was 13-5-37. TWU had four total blocks to Alberta’s zero. The Spartans also led 4-2 in service aces.
In the second set the Pandas jumped out to a 10-6 lead early. But with Alberta leading 12-9 TWU went on a 9-2 run to lead 18-14. Then the Pandas took over the later part of the set outscoring the Spartans 11-3 to even up the sets at 1-1 with a 25-21 win. TWU hit at .111 (10-6-36), while Alberta hit .205 (13-5-39). Alberta had a 2-1 edge in total blocks in the set and a 3-2 edge in service aces.
The third set had a number of extended rallies as both teams battled for control of the match. The set started with the two teams’ dead even to start. Playing side-out ball the two teams matched each other point for point to 10-10. TWU looked to gain some space with a 4-1 run to lead 14-11, before leading 16-14 at the technical break. Alberta came out of the break and took the next three points to lead 17-16 and send TWU into a timeout. The Pandas maintained the two point lead to 21-19. Then the Spartans took over the end of the set scoring six of the last seven points to win the set 25-22 and take a 2-1 set lead. TWU finished the set hitting .171 (13-7-35), while Alberta hit at .054 (9-7-37). Alberta had a 3-2 edge in blocks and a 3-2 edge in service aces.
Alberta responded in the fourth set by opening the set with four straight points. TWU rallied to eventually take a 14-13 lead. The Pandas countered by taking seven of the next eight points to lead 19-15. The Spartans then had their own 5-1 run to tie the set at 20-20. From that point Alberta took over the set to even the match at 2-2 with a 25-21 win. TWU at .167 (14-7-42), while Alberta hit at .178 (13-5-45). Both teams had three blocks, while Alberta had the lone ace.
The fifth set was back and forth. TWU led 4-2 early, but Alberta held the one point 8-7 edge at the cross-over. The Spartans extended the lead to three points, 13-10. Then the Pandas took over the final set scoring five straight points to take the match 15-13. In the final set Alberta 15-13.
NOTABLE
– TWU is 13-29 lifetime in Canada West conference play against Alberta.
– The last time the Spartans met the Pandas in Canada West post season play was the 2019-20 Canada West Gold Medal match, which TWU won 3-2 (26-24, 25-23, 18-25, 18-25, 15-8)
– The last time the Spartans lost to the Pandas in Canada West Play was January 9, 2016, when Alberta prevailed 3-2.
– The Canada West Final Four schedule will be played released Monday.
“I really liked our stick-with-it-ness. There were times when we were really frustrated and we just hung in there and fought through the challenging times and found solutions. I think we kept ourselves in a really good mindset throughout the match.”
In the fifth set on coming back from being down 13-10:
“We got Corbett on the service line, which helped. But sometimes it is about refusing to loose. There is only so much we can do on our side and believing in ourselves and keeping the ball off of the floor, it really is the simple things. Just willing to fight through it.”
Hosting Final Four
“Anything can happen in the Final Four. The four teams that are there are so good. So it is going to be a battle. We had some graduating athletes who were disappointed in their last match at home, so there was a lot on the line for us today besides winning the Pool. So having the privilege to be able to go back and play at home is exciting for us.”
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