Box Score EDMONTON — Behind an impressive tenacity from rookie libero Rachel Jorvina and a near error-free performance from star outside hitter Cassidy Kinsella, the MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball team outlasted the visiting University of Manitoba Bisons 3-2 on Friday, Feb. 10 night to keep their Canada West playoff hopes alive.
 
MacEwan took an epic 25-20, 14-25, 25-14, 21-25, 17-15 battle to improve to 7-14 in the standings while Manitoba falls to 6-15 on the season.
 
Just as head coach Ken Briggs promised in his scouting report, the Bisons brought an elite level of defence. They refused to go away after a slow start in Set 1, refused to quit after going down 2-1 after the third and refused to pack up for the night after falling behind 5-1 in the fifth-and-deciding set.
 
The thing is, though, the Griffins, who have wilted in the face of comebacks from opponents several times this season, matched that resolve. Even when they had a point reversed to knot the score at 13 in the final set, Kinsella came right back with a big kill and they never relinquished the lead, ending the game on one of McKenna Stevenson's four blocks.
 
"Those are the things you wait for all year," said Briggs of the late-set clutch play that's often eluded them.
 
"You saw how good a defence they played," he added. "I just thought that elevated our game. There was a moment in the fourth set when I was going 'holy, we can't get a ball on the floor.'
 
"You can preach all you want, but until you're in the battle, they fight, they don't quit."
 
Manitoba's Cassie Bujan and Tori Studler each had 16 digs for a team that thrives on keeping points alive.
 
But Jorvina matched them with 16 digs of her own, several of which led to MacEwan points.

Manitoba took a while to settle into the first set, conceding an 8-0 run to fall into an early hole. But with Kearley Abbott's kill past the double block, Manitoba was within 15-12. MacEwan regained control off a Lauren Holmes kill and wrapped up a 25-20 win when Courtney Kowk's smash went into the net.
 
"Usually we start pretty fast. Today was the opposite," said Bisons head coach Jon Hykawy. "We've been winning a lot of the first sets. Obviously they came out serving really well and our passing was just terrible.
 
"We sort of settled down in the second set and they struggled passing a little bit. The third set was back and forth. It was a battle right to the wire. We had a swing to go ahead in the fifth set, but they made a couple of big plays at the end, made a couple of blocks and we came out on the wrong side.
 
"But it was a good match."
 
Indeed, it was all Bisons in the second set as they skated to a 4-0 lead and never looked back. They were up 18-8 when Haille Bujan was hit in the head with a smash and left the contest woozy, needing an ice pack but returned late in the fourth set. Sarah Klassen blocked MacEwan's Kate Rozendaal at the net to wrap up a 25-14 win.
 
The Griffins rolled to an 8-0 start in the third set and were way out front the whole way, sealing the deal when setter Claire McLoughlin put it down on a sneaky second touch.
 
Manitoba took control of Set #4 with 5-0 run in the middle of it and went into the technical timeout up 16-11. They tied the match 2-2 on Sydney Booker's service ace.
 
That led to the deciding set and the Griffins jumped out to an early 5-1 lead as Stevenson held court on four-straight serves. The maintained that lead until 12-8 before the Bisons went on a 5-1 run to tie it. But this time, MacEwan demonstrated clutch play to finish it off.
 
"Our kids played great and were aggressive right to the end," said Hykawy, whose squad falls to 6-15 and is all but officially out of playoff contention. "Credit to those guys. Ken does a great job with his group.
 
"They defended the court unbelievable. Their libero player was amazing and Cassidy's one of the best players in the country. She proved that tonight. She's a top CIS player and it's tough to stop her. They played a great match. Hopefully we can come out on the winning side tomorrow."
 
Kinsella led the way with a game-high 21 kills on a .314 hitting percentage, while Kate Rozendaal chipped in 11. McLoughlin had 41 assists.
 
Studler topped Manitoba's output with 13 kills, while Abbott had 12. Setter Sydney Booker had 43 assists.
 
The teams will meet in the rematch on Saturday, Feb. 11 (5 p.m. MT, City Centre Campus).