CALGARY – The Mount Royal Cougars used 16 service aces to defeat the University of Calgary Dinos in straight sets (25-15, 25-12, 25-15) in the annual renewal of their crosstown rivalry at the Jack Simpson Gym.
Mount Royal offence lit up the scoreboard on Thursday afternoon, coming away with a team total of 37 kills compared to 18 by Calgary. Fourth-year outside hitter Chantel Park led all scorers with 10 kills, five digs and three aces, while right side Cassidy Kitchen followed closely behind with eight kills, five digs and seven aces.
On the Dinos side,
Adriel Goodman racked up five kills and three blocks.
The Dinos squad opened set one with intensity as the defensive frontline secured four blocks in the first 10 points. However, the veteran outside Kitchen quickly silenced the Dinos' blocking success. At 17-15, Kitchen capitalized on the Dinos' struggling serve receive and went off on a 10-point serving streak to finish set one at 25-15.
Set two proved to be a contest of long-winded rallies in which the Cougars' offence managed to reign victorious. The Dinos were point for point with the Cougars until the Mount Royal squad found their rhythm at the halfway mark, a tough step attack from Tasha Holness making it difficult for the Dinos to regain control of the match. Kills from Goodman provided some moments of energy for the Dinos, but ultimately errors on serve receive led to a 25-12 Dinos downfall.
In the third set, huge blocking efforts from
Autumn Davidson prompted an early 5-1 Dinos lead, but the Cougars clawed their way back to tie things up at 7-7. From there, a quick tempo offence run by Cougar setter Quinn Pelland packed the pressure on the Dinos, and eventually the Dinos' offensive inaccuracy allowed the Cougars to surge forward for a 25-15 win.
"Tonight was a moment of learning for us as small errors ended up switching our focus away from the game," said Head Coach
Natalie Gurnsey. "This is just part of the learning experience and us working to figure out how to manage errors and a team like Mount Royal that pushes back at us. We are looking to debrief and find a way to come together as a team."
The Dinos will set their sights on rebounding from the loss as they take on the Cougars for one more battle, Friday night at 6 p.m. in the Jack Simpson Gym.
