CALGARY – The Pandas are coming home with a national medal, after defeating the McGill Martlets 3-0 (25-8, 25-22, 25-17) in the U SPORTS Bronze Medal match on Sunday afternoon at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
It will be the fourth-straight U SPORTS medal for the Pandas, after they earned bronze in 2019 at home, and silver in 2017 and 2018.
Kory White led the Pandas 13 kills, with fellow graduating athletes Erin Corbett (11), and Julia Zonneveld (10) adding double digit kill totals.
“It’s not the medal we wanted, but I’m glad we were able to end the season on our own terms,” said Pandas head coach Laurie Eisler. “We weren’t going to settle for anything less. Our serve and block defence was really strong. McGill really came on in the second and third, but the serve game really separated us.”
Clara Poire led McGill with 10 kills on 24 attempts, with setter Adreanne Tremblay adding 13 assists.
The Pandas raced out to an early start, winning the first set 25-8. Corbett led the charge with five kills, with White adding four.
McGill struggled early, committing 10 attack errors in the first.
The second set was much closer, with McGill scoring 15 kills in the second, compared to 18 by the Pandas. Alberta eventually took the second 25-22, after leading by as many as seven midway through the set.
The third was closer to the first, as the Pandas finished with a .314 attack percentage, scoring 17 kills on 35 swings. Rookie setter Justine Kolody turned in another strong performance, finishing the bronze medal match with 37 assists and 10 digs.
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