CAMPUS ROUNDUP: Women's volleyball teams move on in Canada West playoffs

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The University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team is advancing in the Canada West women’s volleyball playoffs.

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So, too, are the Mount Royal University Cougars.

The Dinos are moving on after clawing out a four-set win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on Saturday evening at the UFV Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C.

In a game of huge momentum swings, the Dinos were able to prevail 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20).

While it was Calgary’s first win in Pool A round-robin action after opening with losses to the Brandon Bobcats and the Trinity Western Spartans, the result gave the Dinos new life. Once the top-seeded Spartans held serve against Bobcats later in the evening, Calgary was in a position to win a three-team tiebreaker with Brandon and UFV. All three teams would have matching 1-2 records, but Calgary finished second in the pool based on head-to-head sets won/lost.

The Cascades, who come out on the short end of that tie-breaking scenario, see their season come to an end.

“I think I’m most proud about how we responded when things didn’t go our way,” said Dinos head coach Christine Biggs. “We showed a lot of resilience there, maybe (taking) a call we didn’t like or an error we weren’t proud of and turning it into something good and showing some grit.

“The other part is the group effort over the three days. We had a huge number of bodies on the court for us throughout the weekend, all supporting in ways that speak to their strengths.”

The Cascades and the Dinos were level at 11-11 in the first set, but Calgary caught fire at that point. They would reel off eight of the next nine points, with Regan Ingram contributing a pair of kills and a four-point service run during that stretch. UFV’s Alicja Hardy-Francis responded with a four-point service run of her own as the hosts got back to within 19-17, but a pair of Kenzie Vaandering kills down the stretch helped the Dinos close it out 25-19. Vaandering led all players with five kills in the first, while Amanda Matsui and Mo Likness replied with four apiece for the Cascades.

The Cascades made a stirring comeback in the second to square the match. They fell behind 8-1 early, but were able to battle back as setter Kinna Fisher came off the bench to help shift the momentum. UFV drew even at 19-19 after a Likness kill, and Hardy-Francis came up big in the late stages — she had a kill and combined with Matsui on a pair of crucial blocks as the Cascades took it 25-21.

The third set started as a near carbon copy of the second, as the Dinos opened a 6-0 lead – all of those points came on UFV errors. The Cascades battled back to within 17-15 after a trio of kills in quick succession from Kristen McBride, and they levelled matters at 22-22. Consecutive kills from Deserae Unger and Samantha Boag restored Calgary’s advantage, though, and they were able to finish it 25-23.

Calgary once again built a big advantage in the fourth (17-11), only to watch the Cascades come roaring back. Kills from Likness and Cailin Bitter drew UFV back to within 20-19, but the Dinos responded with kills from Unger and Ingram and came up big at the net with back-to-back blocks, to wrap it up 25-20.

Vaandering had a big game for the Dinos with 12 kills and 20 digs, and Ingram contributed 10 kills and 15 digs. Michela Alongi had 25 digs, and Stella Rains posted 34 assists.

Meanwhile in Saskatoon, the Cougars came out firing early and often, en route to a straight-set victory over the host Saskatchewan Huskies, winning 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-21) at the Physical Activity Complex. 

The Cougars closed the opening round of the playoffs in style with the win, as they improved their weekend record to 3-0, punching their ticket to next weekend’s second round of the Canada West playoff team.

“Our girls played a great game,” said Cougars head coach Shane Smith. “So we’re really happy with it.”

Madison Marshall led the way for Mount Royal with 13 kills and three service aces, while Quinn Pelland had a game-high 32 assists.

“We knew there would be a challenge, and they have some really great players,” Smith said. “Our message was just to stick with it and play one point at a time, and I think we did that. It was tough in the end of that third set, and I think we really stayed in the moment and played every point. We came out on top, so we’re happy with that.”

It was a loud atmosphere inside the PAC, as 891 fans came out to support the Huskies in what proved to be their final game on home court of the 2021-22 campaign. 

“We really appreciate this environment,” Smith said. “The fans were great and gave us a tough time. They gave us a hard time, but that’s the fun part of playing in some of these schools in Canada West — it was a lot of fun for us.”

The Cougars — along with the UBCO Heat — punch their tickets to the next round of the Canada West playoffs, which continues next Friday night.

“We’ll have to get back to work,” Smith said. “We’re not sure where we’ll be or who we’ll be facing, but it just gets tougher — we’re excited for the challenge.”

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

WINNIPEG — The Dinos are off to next phase of the Canada West men’s volleyball playoffs.

Daniel Thiessen had 27 kills and 11 digs, and the Winnipeg Wesmen men’s volleyball team downed the Dinos 3-2 (17-25, 25-22, 18-25, 26-24, 15-10) in Pool C action of the Canada West post-season tournament Saturday night at the Duckworth Centre.

But it was the first loss of the Dinos weekend, meaning both teams wrapped it up with 2-1 records to advance out of Pool C, with Winnipeg winning the group and Calgary taking second.

The Wesmen will now travel to Edmonton for a three-team pool hosted by Alberta, while the Dinos will head to Langley, B.C. Those round robins will run next Friday through Sunday.

Calgary was led by Hamish Hazelden’s 24 kills and Erik Godwin had 10. Calgary hit .304 for the night but was held to .100 in the fifth when the Dinos had five kills with three errors on 20 swings.

Austin Ellchuk had a team-high 14 digs for Calgary.

Meanwhile, the MRU Cougars are done after wrapping up their season Saturday.

In a Pool A round-robin playoff finale between a pair of teams who had already been mathematically eliminated from moving on to the second round, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack battled their way past the Mount Royal Cougars in four sets (23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 28-26) at the UFV Athletic Centre.

TRU wrapped up its playoff run with a 1-2 record, while dropping the Cougars to 0-3 in the round robin. The Brandon Bobcats and the Trinity Western Spartans, based on Friday’s results, had already clinched top-two finishes in the four-team group and will move on to the next round.

The Cougars built a five-point lead midway through the first set, and while the WolfPack were able to battle back and equalize 17-17, MRU pulled away once again thanks to a pair of crucial kills from Jacob van Geel to take it 25-23.

In the second a trio of kills in quick succession from Thundersky Walkingbear put TRU up 17-12, and they would maintain the lead the rest of the way to take it 25-20.

Rylan Ibbetson took over down the stretch of the third – with his team clinging to a 21-20 lead, he blasted a trio of kills to put TRU up 24-21, and they would hang on for a 25-23 win.

The Cougars appeared poised to send it to a fifth set, building a five-point margin (18-13) in the fourth. But the WolfPack fought all the way back, fending off an MRU set point with a Sam Flowerday kill and going on to close out the match 28-26 with Maxim Turgeon and Walkingbear picking up clutch kills in the late going.

It was a night to remember for Ibbetson — the true freshman had just three kills during the regular season, but was inserted into the starting lineup and blasted 15 kills on 23 swings with just two errors for a .565 hitting percentage, along with a team-best 18 digs.

Flowerday’s 20 kills paced the WolfPack, and Walkingbear added 18 kills. Setter Samuel Elgert dished out 49 assists.

Van Geel’s 11 kills led the Cougars, and Max Haronga (nine kills, 10 digs), Luis Lange (eight kills) and Joao Friere (seven kills, 12 digs) also had solid performances for MRU.

“The vibe definitely didn’t feel great in the first two sets, but I’m proud of how we turned it around and we actually had a pretty good game going there (in the fourth),” Van Geel said. “Credit to Thompson Rivers — I thought they played great. They had some really scrappy digs, and they were able to convert them into kills. It was a fun game, but I wish we could have come out swinging right away.”

MEN’S HOCKEY

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Faced with a do-or-die situation Saturday night, the Mount Royal Cougars found a way to grind out a 3-2 win over the UBC Thunderbirds, forcing a third and deciding game in the best-of-three Canada West semifinal series.

Tied at two after a raucous opening period, the eventual game-winner came midway through the third when a fortuitous bounce off the corner glass saw the puck land right in the slot for Riley Sawchuk, who buried his first of the playoffs, pushing the series to the distance.

“That was a really gritty effort from our group,” said MRU head coach Bert Gilling. “It’s really tough when you lose that first game of a series, and it’s a lot of mental warfare. Our preparation was good, there was just kind of a steely-eyed determination amongst the group (Saturday), and I thought we came out very business like and did our job.”

The first 15 minutes of the first period belonged to the Cougars, who certainly came out with purpose, resulting in a pair of goals six minutes apart to stake out a two-goal lead.

Nolan Yaremko’s third of the post-season opened scoring 9:24 into the period with a wrister from the right faceoff circle off a cross-ice feed from Andrew Fyten.

Fyten then picked up his second point of the period and second goal of the playoffs at the 15:24 mark when he skated behind the T-Birds net, roofing the puck past a partially screened Rylan Toth from a sharp angle.

But the ‘Birds quickly swung momentum in their favour with two goals in the final 2:02 to enter the break on even terms.
Jonathan Smart blasted his first of the playoffs from the point past Riley Morris stick-side to give the hosts some much needed life.

Then with just 26 seconds remaining in the period, Austin Glover picked up a rebound just outside the crease and buried it on the backhand for his second point of the game.

Following a scoreless second period, a sense of potential overtime was just beginning to creep in when Sawchuk scored the go-ahead goal at 7:44 of the third. A dump into the nearside corner saw the puck bounce off the glass right to the prolific rookie scorer who had nothing but net to shoot at after Toth had come out to play the puck before the unluckiest of bounces.

The T-Birds pressed hard with the extra attacker late in the period with the Jake Kryski-Scott Atkinson-Chris Douglas line nearly scoring the tying marker on multiple occasions, but the Cougars held on to stay alive for another day.

“We had more than enough chances to score — we were just kind of snakebitten in front of their net,” said UBC head coach Sven Butenschon. “We knew it was going to be a tough series. It was probably going to go the full three games, so no surprise.”

After Game 1’s penalty-filled affair, both teams saw only two power-play chances Saturday with the Cougars finishing 1-for-2 while UBC failed on both their chances.

Morris made 32 saves in the win as the Cougars outshot the T-Birds 38-34.

Game 3, with a berth in the Canada West final against the Alberta Golden Bears on the line, goes Sunday at 8:30 p.m. MT at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

“The juices will be flowing, these games are fun,” added Butenschon of the elimination scenario. “I played in them. I coached in them a couple years ago when we had some success in the playoffs. They’re so much fun. You can really grow as a player and as a team in these situations. If we have to win it in three, then we win it in three.”

Meanwhile in Edmonton, the U SPORTS No. 2 ranked Golden Bears clinched their spot in both the 2022 Canada West Final and University Cup Championships with a 6-1 win over the Dinos on Saturday night.

The win gives the Bears a sweep over the Dinos in their semifinal series, following their 6-2 win in Game 1 on Friday.

Noah Philp was sensational again, adding three more points, including a pair of goals, finishing the semifinal series with eight points in two games.

Matt Fonteyne, Josh Paterson, Josh Prokop, and Luc Smith, also scored for Alberta, who secured a spot in the conference final for the 8th time in the past nine seasons.

Taz Burman turned aside 26 of the 27 shots he faced, earning his first career CW post season win.

Carl Stankowski, who came in relief in Game 1, stopped 24 of the 30 shots he faced as the Dinos starter in Game 2.

Tim Vanstone scored the lone Dinos goal midway through the third.

With the season coming to an end, the Dinos now graduate seniors Ryan Gagnon, Ryan Graham, Tyler Gutenberg, Josh Rieger, James Shearer and Vanstone.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

The Saskatchewan Huskies upset the Mount Royal University Cougars with a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night at Flames Community Arena, clinching the Canada West semi-finals series.

“I thought our team played outstanding,” said Huskies goaltender Camryn Drever. “Everybody was working together. The energy on the bench and on the ice was incredible, even our teammates in the stands.”

MRU was undisciplined in the first period, receiving three different penalties. The first penalty came two and half minutes into the game when Laura Cook was called for hooking. This allowed the Huskies to set up in the offensive zone for a prolonged period of time and register four shots on goal.

The Cougars did not allow their opponents to get set up on their second power-play opportunity, as they pushed the Huskies towards the outside, picked off passes and blocked shots.

Jori Hansen-Young received a cross-checking penalty late in the first period that extended into the second.

A mad scramble occurred in front of the Cougars’ net in search of the loose puck. Maddison Toppe found the puck and attempted to clear it down the ice. But Saskatchewan’s Larissa Bohlken intercepted it in the high slot and released a wrister past screened MRU goalie Zoe DeBeauville.

MRU pushed back, persistently maintaining possession, setting up in the offensive zone, and getting shots on net after going down 1-0.

Bohlken turned over the puck near the bottom of the right circle, and MRU’s Breanne Trotter picked up the loose puck and roofed it over the right shoulder of Drever to tie the game up with two minutes left in the second.

The third period was filled with end-to-end action caused by turnovers in the neutral zone and cross-ice passes springing players open at the blue line. This led to both teams having numerous scoring opportunities but no goals to show for it.

“We played our best,” Trotter said. “We just couldn’t score.”

The Huskies scored the series-winning goal four minutes into overtime. Bailee Bourassa released a low wrister hitting off the right pad of DeBeauville. Kennedy Brown one-timed the loose puck up and over the left side of the MRU goaltender.

The Cougars finished the regular season top of Canada West with an 18-5-0 record but are now done with Saturday’s OT loss.

“I’m proud of what this group accomplished,” said Cougars head coach Scott Rivett. “We set records and program firsts, but ultimately we fell short of the goal we wanted to achieve this season.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

The top-seeded Huskies women’s basketball team used an 11-0 run early in the third quarter Sunday to flip the script and hang on from there, successfully navigating past an upset bid from eighth-seeded Dinos for a 72-62 win Sunday afternoon in the first Canada West quarter-final contest for women’s basketball in the Jack Simpson Gym.

The Dinos started the game on fire, scoring the first seven points of the game and holding a 27-19 lead on 11-16 shooting (69%) after one. The Huskies were able to slowly chip away, however, cutting the lead to just one at the break before going ahead early in the third and keeping Calgary at arm’s length the rest of the way.

Freshman Amalie Collin led the scoring for the Dinos with 19 points. CW all-rookie honouree Annacy Palmer added another 11, while Veronika Lavergne finished with six points to go with 14 rebounds and four blocks in another dominant defensive performance in the post.

For the Dinos, the upset bid was on early. Mya Proctor connected on the game’s first shot, followed by a triple by Palmer and a driving layup from senior Reyna Crawford to make it 7-0 and quickly breathe life into the home crowd. An and-one play from Collin made it 12-3 less than three minutes into the game and a triple by Proctor just before the end of the first gave Calgary a 27-19 lead after one.

While the Dinos were able to hold the lead the entirety of the second frame, the Huskies were able to close the gap and made it a one-point game at the break after a three just before the buzzer.

After another Palmer to start the second half and make it 41-37, the Huskies clamped down on defence and started getting some offensive rhythm of their own. They closed the run and made it 48-41 with 6:36 left in the quarter, maintaining that lead through the rest of the frame.

Calgary had a strong defensive showing of its own in the fourth, limiting Saskatchewan to just 14% shooting (2-14) over the final 10 minutes but could get no closer than five down the stretch as untimely turnovers proved too costly.

“Some of the gremlins that turned up in the season turned up in the second half,” said Dinos head coach Damien Jennings. “I’m really proud of the group and the way they went at it. We’re very proud of the seniors and what they’ve done, as well as the new players that have only been here for a year. Even though it’s earlier than we wanted to finish, it’s nice that it’s at home. I hope this youthful, talented group has aggressive learning going on.”

The Dinos graduate Crawford, Lavergne, Jordyn Cullum, Tiarra Davis and Christy Fehr from this year’s team.

The Huskies will now host the CW Final Four, set to begin March 18.

The host Cougars were bounced from the Canada West women’s basketball playoffs Saturday after a 77-65 loss to Winnipeg at MRU’s Kenyon Court.

Winnipeg came into the game ranked fifth nationally and showed the crowd why. Its physical play-style and aggressive press were the key to the victory.

Kyanna Giles was named player of the game with an incredible 27 points and eight rebounds for Winnipeg. Teammate Keylyn Filewich had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Cougars held their own and showed incredible growth throughout the regular season that continued into the first two rounds of playoffs.

This team was considerably undersized in comparison to the tough Winnipeg squad, but MRU still managed to grab 38 rebounds. Tanis Metcalfe and Jamie Lalor led the way with eight rebounds apiece for Mount Royal.

Metcalfe did more than that, adding 11 points and was a huge presence for the Cougars. She was constantly putting pressure against Filewich. Metcalfe’s persistence in the paint got her named Mount Royal’s player of the game.

“What we’ve been really focusing on is our defence, and winning the rebounding battles,” Metcalfe said. “So when we focus on that, we seem to have pretty good games and played some really good teams. We really wanted to focus on (Filewich), especially since she’s a first team all-star, and I thought we did a pretty good job at doing that. I thought it was a pretty good game considering.”

Maddison Hooper also had a good night for MRU, putting up 14 points, making four buckets from beyond the arc. Her sharp shooting and versatility in the attacking end helped control the pace and provide space for the Cougars’ forwards and posts.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

CALGARY — Mason Bourcier could not be stopped. The fourth-year guard was sensational for the Trinity Western University Spartans as they upset the Dinos on Friday night, 102-92, at the Jack Simpson Gym.

Bourcier erupted for 41 points to go with 12 rebounds, and 13 assists, recording his second consecutive triple double and sixth of the season. No defensive scheme or matchup could slow Bourcier down.

Bourcier and the Spartans jumped out of the gates on fire, starting the game on a 12-2 run. The Kelowna product had 19 points of his own as the Spartans connected on over 61% of their first-quarter shots to hold a 32-24 lead after one.

Calgary made a nice run in the second in front of the loudest crowd the Jack Simpson Gym has been all season. The Dinos cut the lead to five points with less than two minutes remaining in the half, a run that was upended by the incoming Spartan avalanche.

Two colossal runs to start and end the third quarter quelled the Calgary crowd and any momentum the Dinos generated. Bourcier’s dissection of the Dinos defence was clinical, calculated, and crushing.

The grit of the Dinos showed through in the final quarter of action, clawing themselves within four points of the Spartans at the midpoint of the fourth. Second-team all-star Ja’Qualyn Gilbreath, whom the Dinos had held in check up to that point, recorded seven-straight points to give the Spartans the final breathing room they needed.

The loss brings a close to Calgary’s season and ends a five-year streak of U SPORTS Final 8 appearances. With new faces stepping into prominent roles and countless injuries and unavailability’s resulting from a COVID-19 impacted season, the Dinos resolve and growth will steer the storied program forward for years to come.

“We have a lot of freshman and sophomores, and they got a lot of experience this year and that will help us in the future,” Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren said post-game. “Between COVID and injuries with all of our bigs, it was difficult. You could see that guys just weren’t in good enough physical shape after being out for as long as they’ve been out, and it shows defensively in moments.”

With their season coming to an end, the Dinos now graduate seniors Tobi Adelodun, Mason Foreman, Simon Kutzchmar and Jake Nielson.

Meanwhile, the Cougars were also bounced from the playoffs Friday night.

In a thrilling battle between the No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds and the No. 12 Cougars in Lethbridge, the T-birds prevailed 77-72 to punch their ticket to the Canada West quarter-finals.

Entering the fourth quarter trailing 61-51, the Cougars would embark on a 7-0 run in the opening 70 seconds of the quarter thanks to Chase Bohne, Holt Tomie and Brock Dewsbery. Following a UBC timeout, the Cougars momentum would continue, as an and-one drive to the basket by Tomie would give Mount Royal its first lead since scoring the game’s opening basket. Motivated by a relentless effort on defence, the Cougars would hold the T-birds without a basket for the first four minutes of the quarter.

Tied 68-68 with four minutes to play, UBC would regain a 75-72 lead with 30 seconds to play following a 7-4 run. With a chance to tie the game, Mount Royal would turn the ball over. The ‘Birds would capitalize on their final possession to secure a 77-72 victory.

The Thunderbirds were led by Audu with 22 points, while Brian Wallack, James Wood, and Kyle Foreman added 15, 13, and 11 points apiece.

The Cougars were led by a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double performance from second-year guard Tomie. Nate Petrone added 14 points for Mount Royal.

“I am really proud of how our guys battled back after such a tough start,” said Cougars head coach Marc Dobell, when asked about the game. “We faced a lot of adversity in the game, and our guys competed to the end. I am just really proud to be a part of this team.”

The Cougars would prove their ability to compete amongst Canada West’s elite in the first half. Despite trailing 25-18 in the second quarter, an inspired 11-4 run would give the Cougars the lead, 29-28. However, the Thunderbirds would showcase why they have the conferences third ranked offence embarking on an 18-3 run to regain a 46-32 lead at halftime.

A determined comeback by the Cougars in the second half would see Mount Royal take a one-point lead with three minutes to play. Ultimately, the comeback was not meant to be, as the ‘Birds secured the win.