CALGARY – The Mount Royal University Cougars had an explosive win over the University of Calgary Dinos tonight, taking the game 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15).
MRU came out aggressively, putting instant pressure against this Dino squad in what was their seventh matchup of the season. But Calgary wasn’t about to sit back and hand the Cougars an easy win.
For every run Mount Royal began, U of C was right on their toes to return with a run of their own, constantly closing any gaps on the scoreboard as they started to show.
The first set ended with extremely similar stats, with Calgary hitting 32 per cent while MRU hit 39 per cent.
Both squads had big showings from their star players on the court tonight, with Kenzie Vaandering finishing with 12 of her team’s kills, as well as 28 receptions, 11 digs and three blocks.
The fourth year is know for her huge hits and leadership both on and off the court. And tonight was no different. Vaandering was a huge threat to MRU’s defense, hammering through a wall of Cougar arms onto the floor in the Cougars zone. Her strong and consistent performance tonight granted her the player of the game title.
“We can eliminate anyone else but no one can eliminate us. We’re taking that mentality of let’s go and fight hard for every point because we have nothing to lose,” said Vaandering. “We’ve definitely had a peek at UBC and know that they are definitely a deep team, so it’s kind of resetting and knowing that no matter who is on the other side we can control our side of the game by serving aggressively, controlling first contact and trying to create some chaos on the other side.”
On the other side of the gym, Dholi Thokbuom and Madison Marshall were a powerhouse dynamic duo, putting up a total 35 kills, nearly matching the entire Dinos line.
Marshall stepped up on defence as well making 25 receptions, 10 digs and a solo block in favour of the Cougars.
However, Thokbuom was the real force tonight, with her swing hammering down 19 kills, finishing tonight with an incredible 61 per cent attack average. Her consistency, energy and intensity were apparent throughout all four sets of play, never once faltering.
“It felt great playing in front of our fellow student athletes so that’s nice. We didn’t think we would get to play on our court again so it felt good,” said Thokbuom, MRU’s player of the game.
Mount Royal had a near perfect night, being an unstoppable force with textbook plays, crystal communication and stunning pass accuracy coming from Quinn Pelland.
For the Dinos, they never let being down stop them. Regan Ingram and Stella Rains were instrumental in keeping Calgary alive and very much in the race.
Ingram put down 12 kills, eight digs and three blocks for Calgary, while Rains, the second year setter, added two career highs to her stat sheet. Rains had five service aces against MRU along with 27 assists and even a kill of her own.
Both teams have one more game this weekend before finishing the second round of CW playoffs. The U of C Dinos will face the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds tomorrow night for a 6 p.m. start in Kenyon Court, while the Cougars will meet UBC the following day.
Make sure to catch the games live at Mount Royal University in Calgary, or on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
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