CALGARY — With the last game before Christmas break, the Mount Royal University Cougars turned in a hard fought effort against the No. 6-ranked University of Calgary Dinos, but ultimately fell 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23).
After a 3-0 win on Wednesday night, the University of Calgary Dinos left off from there by racing out to a 5-1 lead over Mount Royal. The Cougars clawed their way back with an 11-4 run and led 12-9. After head coach Natalie Gurnsey called a timeout, it appeared to fire up the Dinos as they scored six straight points. They would hang on for the rest of the set to claim a 25-20 victory. Toni Vandenbrink led the Cougars with four kills, while Kate Pexman had five kills and four digs.
The second set stayed close throughout, but the Dinos held on and benefitted from a late Cougars service error to give U of C a 25-23 win. Pexman's hot play continued as she racked up seven kills and four digs. Fallon Middlemiss, the lone Cougars' fifth year, recorded five kills and was diving all across the court keeping plays alive. Rookie Taylor Pelland also added three kills.
Thanks to a 7-1 jumpstart, Mount Royal was able to claim the third set quite easily by a score of 25-18. The closest the Dinos got was five points down, in large part to Ali Wooley's three early kills. Both Middlemiss and Marni Mackay recorded three kills, with Mackay smashing the last two in the set to give Mount Royal the victory.
Mount Royal came out hungry in the fourth set in attempt to force a fifth, but the more-experienced Dinos came up clutch when it mattered. In a back-and-forth set, the biggest leads either team held was just two. Tied at 23-23, Calgary's setter Jordhynn Guy came up huge with consecutive service aces, giving the Dinos a fourth set win and 3-1 match victory.
Pexman was sensational for the Dinos, leading the team in kills with 20 and digs with 17. On the Mount Royal side, Middlemiss had 12 kills and 15 digs, while Vandenbrink recorded 10 kills.
The Dinos pick up a weekend sweep of the Cougars and move to 10-6 on the year, while Mount Royal is now at a 3-13 record.
In the new year, Mount Royal hosts the University of Manitoba Bisons on January 9th and 10th. Just 10 games remain before the end of the 2014-2015 regular season.
