Players Bench Athletes of the Week: January 23 – 29

Female Athlete of the Week

The MRU Cougars women’s basketball team suffered two taxing losses over the weekend, playing against the Trinity Western Spartans in Langley, B.C. In Friday’s game, the Cougars showed signs of outstanding basketball and led at halftime. Unfortunately, Mount Royal was met by a stronger performance from the Spartans in the second half and fell by a 17-point difference. Saturday’s rematch saw MRU start the game on top but ultimately fell victim to another second-half surge from Trinity Western, losing by 11.

The Players Bench Female Athlete of the Week is Nora Luca. The Calgary local put together a stellar performance in Langley despite the Cougars suffering a couple of losses. On Friday, Luca scored nine of her 15 points in the first quarter. The agile forward shot 5-for-9 from the field and was perfect from the free-throw line. She also grabbed seven boards and recorded two blocks all while going the entire game without committing a foul. In the weekend finale, Luca outdid herself on the offensive end, putting up a team-high 17 points in just 29 minutes. She was able to show off her skill and versatility, scoring from beyond the arc while also getting to the rim.

Luca is a third-year science major at Mount Royal and was named a 2022-23 U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian.

Male Athlete of the Week

After two huge wins over the University of Winnipeg Wesmen, Mount Royal’s men’s volleyball team sailed to the top of the Canada West standings with a 14-6 record. Friday’s match saw the Cougars sweep the Wesmen 3-0. Despite prevailing in consecutive sets, Winnipeg matched up against MRU well, with Saturday’s rematch to prove it. Mount Royal went up 1-0 after a close first set; however, the Cougars would go on to drop the next two as Winnipeg inched closer to a weekend split. But the Cougars would not back down, winning the fourth set in commanding fashion and sending the game to a deciding fifth. With two points on the line, the Cougars and Wesmen pushed the score beyond 15 points, with Mount Royal narrowly winning 16-14 and stealing a 3-2 win.

The Players Bench Male Athlete of the Week is Chris Byam. One of seven MRU graduating student-athletes honoured before Saturday’s game, Byam locked in for the weekend to remind the conference that he is the league’s top player. In Friday’s sweep, the Bow Island, Alta. product hammered down 12 kills, served one ace and posted four blocks. Saturday’s senior celebration saw Byam take his game to another level. The Cougars’ captain registered 20 kills, five aces and four blocks. His performance totalled out to a season-high 27 points. Byam’s dominance was on full display when he served back-to-back aces in a do-or-die fourth set to keep MRU in the game and eventually prevail victorious.

Byam, a fourth-year outside hitter, is enrolled in the Health and Physical education program at MRU.