VANCOUVER – The fifth time was the charm for the Bisons volleyball team, who knocked off the No. 3 seed Mount Royal Cougars 3-2 (24-26, 25-20, 16-25, 25-22, 15-10) in the national quarterfinals Friday night at War Memorial Gym.
The Canada West runners up had previously won all four games against the Herd, including a two-game sweep in the Canada West semi-finals, but their last matchup was decided by a few key points and untimely errors. Tonight, Manitoba played cleaner, kept MRU off balance on serve-receive and got the job done.
As a team, Manitoba blasted home a season-best 14 service aces, with five different players tallying at least one. The Cougars struggled in that department, with 20 service errors. Overall, the Herd's ability to get MRU out of system, especially in the final two sets, paid off big time.
"We put our time into serving. It's been just a true constant for us," said head coach
Ken Bentley.
"I was really proud of how we handled that today. We just put pressure on the other side, and I thought defensively we did a great job to create opportunities to score in transition, and we just stayed really tenacious. I was really proud of that part of our game."
Rookie of the Year
Raya Surinx continued her dominant playoff run, leading the way with eight aces (the same amount as the five-set Canada West record), along with a team-high 21 kills (29 points total), including the game-winner for the second post-season match in a row.
Overall, she was fed 72 times, the second game in a row where she's had over 70 attacks. She continues to lead U SPORTS in the post-season with over five kills and points per set.
The game as a whole showcased Manitoba's resiliency and fearlessness. The Cougars dictated play in the third set, winning 25-16 while hitting .484 overall, as they entered the fourth up 2-1. It's in this position that they closed out multiple games against Manitoba in the regular season, but this time around it was a different story.
Surinx and middles
Eve Catojo and
Brenna Bedosky – who combined for 14.5 points – all had aces, while Player of the Game
Ella Gray -- playing in her home province with tons of fan support -- had six of her 14 kills in the fourth to tie the game.
'She believes more than ever that anything is possible'
In the fifth, Surinx added six more kills, including three of her side's first five points. The Cougars battled back from three points down to make it 8-7, but that's when setter
Katreena Bentley made a statement.
A strong serve from Emma Boyd was defended well by
Andi Almonte (one of five Bisons with at least ten digs), with the ball going right to Bentley at the right side of the net. Taking on two defenders, including the tallest player in the tournament Nyadholi Thokbuom, the 5'5" Bentley had no fear as she tipped the ball past the 6'3" middle for the point.
The Cougars only scored three more points the rest of the way.
Bentley's versatility and determination was felt in all areas. She had 42 assists, distributing the ball brilliantly, and added an ace, 12 digs, two kills and an assisted block. Over her last two playoff games, she has a total of 102 assists.
"I thought she managed the game brilliantly today. I thought she did such a good job of distributing the ball just enough so that there wasn't any real sure path for the other team to go, or where they thought the ball was going to go," said Ken.
"She kept it really honest and just created enough stress and strain that it eventually went our way."
"I think she believes more than ever that anything is possible," added assistant coach Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, a two-time national Player of the Year with the Bisons who was also the setter for Team Canada, and, like Bentley, is under-sized but tenacious.
"She's just like me. We're little. She won the press against the tallest player in this tournament just a few minutes ago, and I made a living and a career out of that, because you have to believe that if you get it at the right time, that's what's important, not the foot difference in height. It doesn't matter. She stays so calm."
The Cougars won a back-and-forth first set in extra points where 11 different players had at least one kill. Manitoba stormed back in the second, aided by four aces, three from Almonte.
The Herd closed the set out with a Surinx smash that pained the back line, set up by a sprawling save from libero
Emma Benson, who provided back row stability off the bench.
"[Benson] is such a good back court player," said Bentley. "I just knew that this weekend we needed to use her more consistently. She's not scared of the moment. She went in and played big, and really did a great job for us."
Mount Royal had a super sub of their own in the third, as Emma Boyd came off the bench, recording six of her eight kills in the set. But Manitoba didn't back down, going on a four-point run in the fourth to go up 19-14 after a Bedosky kill. From then on, they didn't trail for the remainder of the game.
Next up is a semi-final battle against host UBC tomorrow at 8 PM PT. The No. 7 seed upset the No. 2 seed and OUA champion Brock in four sets, and will have a loud home crowd behind them, but the Bisons faced similar noise in the bronze medal match, and are ready. They also beat UBC in two games in the conference quarterfinals. You can catch the match on CBC's YouTube channel.
"We've played in front of some big crowds lately, so we're getting used to it. The Winnipeg crowd, and now this one. Obviously it's exciting. We're in a national semi-final, we're playing the home team. It's going to be really challenging, but semi-finals at nationals are always really challenging," added Bentley.
"We play who we play when we play them. That's what we've said all along. We'll do the same thing tomorrow and we'll be ready to go."
