EDMONTON – Rookie Laila Johnston had a game-high 18 kills to lead the youthful Pandas to a four set 3-1 (25-19, 28-26, 20-25, 25-19) victory at the Saville Centre Saturday night.
She was aided by fourth-year outside hitter Lauryn Tremblay who had a good game for the home side with 18 kills as well, while the Huskies were led by fourth-year Olivia Mattern who finished with 14 kills.
The Pandas played four CW rookies including Johnston in the matchup, who all performed admirably against an experienced Huskies squad that finished first in the East Division with a 14-2 record last year.
With the win, Alberta moves to 2-0 on the young season while the Huskies drop their opening two in Edmonton.
The Pandas picked up right where they left off Friday, as they rode a .400 hitting percentage to a resounding 25-19 first set victory. Alberta was paced by Tremblay and Johnston, who led all players with five kills in the set. The Huskies were aided by three kills from Deyvn Ethier, but struggled on the attack to the tune of a .103 hitting percentage.
The Pandas started the second set on fire, going on a 9-2 run aided by Johnstons two kills in the sequence. The Huskies battled back mid set however, going on a 6-2 run to get back within three. Caet McCorkell and Co. would continually chip away at a Pandas lead in an exciting run that led to a 24-24 second set. After trading points back and forth, Johnston put the set away with a kill and a good serve that led to a Huskie error en route to a 28-26 Alberta victory.
The Huskies improved their attack marginally, but were undone by service and attack errors. They were, however, better on defence, cutting the Pandas hitting percentage in half from the first set.
Saskatchewan built on their second set with an 8-2 run to start the third, however that was immediately succeeded by a 7-1 run from the Pandas to knot the set at 9. It would be all visitors from there though, as Mattern and her set-high 6 kills would aid the Huskies to a 25-20 set victory to force a fourth frame.
The Huskies had a .129 hitting percentage to Alberta’s .000 goose egg, while the Pandas had 12 total errors in the set.
Alberta head coach Laurie Eisler, entering her 31st year in charge of the program, must have sharpened the team during the break as Alberta jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the fourth set on the backs of Tremblay and Johnston. The Huskies would not be put away so easily, however, battling back all the way to 23-18. However, Tremblay would put Saskatchewan away with an emphatic hit to lead the Pandas to a 25-19 set and game victory.
The Huskies will travel back to Saskatoon open at home on Friday night. Get your tickets at HuskieTickets.com.
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