Young Griffins look for progression in passing game as they hit road for matches against Calgary

Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – Every test in the Canada West conference is tough, but it stands to reason that the MacEwan Griffins women’s volleyball team will have a greater chance at success this weekend than last as they shift preparations from facing the Alberta Pandas – ranked No. 2 nationally – to the Calgary Dinos, who, like them, are 0-2 in the standings and well back of a U SPORTS top-10 spot.

MacEwan was steamrolled at home against the Pandas last weekend, reaching 20 in only one of six sets they suffered back-to-back 3-0 losses.

“We’re just trying to learn how to compete,” said head coach Ken Briggs, who has one of the youngest teams in U SPORTS with 16 first-year players. “The lessons learned are when it got down to it, it’s still the simple parts of the game that matter.

“The serve, serve-receive game is going to determine the outcome in the end. We’re just trying to become more consistent.”

Win or lose against Calgary when they visit them this weekend (Friday, 6 p.m. and Saturday, 6:30 p.m., both Canada West TV presented by Co-op), the Griffins hope to take a step forward in their long-term progression from green to seasoned.

Short-term, Briggs is looking for improvements in their passing game, which would help spread out the offence more to include their middles.

“I didn’t think we did a very good job of getting our middles engaged (against Alberta) and that was (due to) not as good of passing as I would have hoped for,” he said. “But I really thought our middles have come a long way.

“As has been proven in the past, if we can have even a basic middle attack, that will open it up for the youngsters on the outside. I know Dana (Dunbar) and Sarah (McGee) are very motivated to be way more involved than they were in the first (weekend). That was a combination of rookie setters and not great passing. But I think they have a lot to show and they certainly want to.”

MacEwan didn’t meet Calgary in preseason, but the Dinos players, featuring a few local products, are well known to Briggs and his staff. They will present a challenge to the winless Griffins.

“Brand new coach, they have a good returning group,” said Briggs. “We know lots of their players. Lots of them are Edmonton girls. Good quality setting and they’ve got a solid group of young attackers on the outside.

‘They’re athletic and they’re at home – it’s their home opener, so they’ll be pretty excited.”

Since entering Canada West in 2014, the Griffins have been competitive with the Dinos, holding a 5-7 record against them (2-4 on the road).