UBCO punch ticket to playoffs, eliminate Pandas with 3-0 victory

EDMONTON – First-year Sydney Grills had a team-high 12 kills as the UBCO Heat beat the Alberta Pandas 3-0 (29-27, 25-21, 26-24) in a playoff-clinching Friday night game at the Saville Centre.

The win moves the Heat to 12-11 on the year, and mathematically locks them into the eighth and final playoff spot in the Canada West. Alberta (10-13) needed to sweep the weekend series to get into the postseason, while the Saskatchewan Huskies needed to win both games in straight sets this weekend versus the Winnipeg Wesmen but lost tonight’s game.

Grills was joined by 10 kills from Jade Bussard and Amaya Perry in the victory; Laila Johnston led the hosts with 13 kills of her own.

It was a wire-to-wire first set in the main gym. Neither squad built up more than a three-point advantage in the set, with Alberta starting the set strong but UBCO coming on strong towards the end. Rookie Sydney Grills had a good frame for the visitors, recording four kills and an efficient .600 hitting percentage. A 24-24 deadlock would lead to a lengthy end to the set, with UBCO playing their best volleyball at the end of a 29-27 set win. Laila Johnston paced the Pandas with a set-high five kills.

The Heat would continue to gain momentum through the second set. While Alberta, through stalwart Lauryn Tremblay, would stick around for the frame, UBCO was too efficient to be stopped. They hit an incredible .458 in the set, led by Jade Bussard who had a team-high four kills, and recorded five total blocks in a good two-way performance. The Heat won 25-21 and headed to the third set with a 2-0 advantage.

The third set offered no surprise – a tightly contested, back-and-forth frame that tested the mettle of both squads. It featured a couple of phenomenal rallies, including a ping-pong-like back-and-forth at the net between UBCO’s Natalie Funk and Alberta’s Sona Sajeev that the latter eventually won. From 20-18 Alberta, the Heat made a phenomenal 8-4 run in extra points to win the game in straight sets.

The teams return to action tomorrow night for the last game of the CW regular season, with the Heat looking ahead to a matchup with the U SPORTS #1-ranked Trinity Western Spartans.