EDMONTON – Able to go on lengthy runs in each of the three sets, the MacEwan Griffins cruised to a dominant 3-0 victory over the University of Manitoba Bisons in Canada West women's volleyball action at the David Atkinson Gym on Friday.
The red-hot Griffins romped to their fifth-straight victory with a 25-11, 25-18, 25-22 result that pushed their record to 7-4 in the standings. Manitoba, meanwhile, is going in the opposite direction with their fifth-straight loss to fall to 2-9.
Lauren Holmes and Haley Gilfillan each had 12 kills for the Griffins, while setter Kylie Schubert had another strong outing with 33 assists and libero Rachel Jorvina darted all over the court to record a match-high 14 digs.
Light Uchechukwu led the Bisons with nine kills on a .375 hitting percentage, while
Kelsey Jordan produced 21 assists and
Jordan Hamm had 10 digs.
"They're a real good steady team," said Manitoba head coach
Ken Bentley. "We got caught three or four times where we gave up five or six in a row and it hurt us. We've played some really good volleyball. We just haven't been as consistent as I would like. That's just a work in progress."
Rarely challenged in the opening set, MacEwan gained an early five-point advantage and closed on a 12-3 run, ending it on Holmes' blast from the left side off the block and out.
Manitoba came out much stronger in the second set, taking an early 6-2 lead behind a strong service run by
Kearley Abbott. But once MacEwan recovered and closed the gap, it was curtains for the visitors. The Griffins went on a stunning 15-2 run to gain a 17-8 lead and closed it out with their opponents stuck at 18 when Gilfillan delivered a quick strike in the middle.
The Bisons put their best foot forward in Set 3, leading for good stretches of the affair, including holding an 18-14 lead. But Briggs called a timeout and the Griffins charged out of it on a 9-1 run to take over. Gilfillan ended it on MacEwan's second match point attempt with a right-side attack.
The third set is something Bentley thinks the Bisons can build off of heading into the rematch on Saturday (5 p.m., Canada West TV presented by Co-op).
"I thought the third set was pretty good," he said. "We were ahead there in the late teens and they scored a few on us there. We battled back, just fell a few points short."