WINNIPEG – The No. 1 seed Alberta Pandas hit .441, opening up massive leads in all three sets en route to a 3-0 win over No. 8 seed Memorial in the U SPORTS quarterfinals.
 
Alberta went on a nine-point run in the first, a four point run early in the second and an 8-3 run late in the third to seal the game.
 
The Pandas gained momentum at the service line early and often, recording eight aces in the match. Allie Moore got the party started with an ace to make the score 17-5 in the first for the U of A, and she and Laila Johnston both had three overall, while Ronnie Dickson and Abby Guezen also had aces.
 
Offensively, Mackenzie Pool led all Pandas with eight kills, hitting .583 overall along with seven digs. She was one of four different Pandas players to hit over .500, while setter Justine Kolody – a local standout with lots of family in attendance – had 23 assists.
 
"There were some nerves, but we were ready to get after it right away. I'm really proud of that," said head coach Carolyn O'Dwyer.
 
"We had a little dip in the third set where we maybe could have been, but to get a win at nationals is a big deal. We're happy to be through to the next round."
 
The Pandas had no attack errors in their first 14 points of the game, breaking open a 5-3 lead with nine in a row. Pool put down the first set winner with a line shot.
 
Two aces and a kill from Johnston, who hit .583 with seven kills, expanded a 2-1 lead for Alberta to 6-2, and from there the floodgates opened. Back to back aces from Allie Moore, who hit .500 with seven kills, made it 14-4 and Memorial was unable to come back.
 
The third set was the tightest of the night. Courtney Hodder had two aces, including one to tie the match at six, but Ronnie Dickson and Johnston put a stop to the run with aces themselves, with the latter's third ending the match.
 
"It was a huge momentum giver," Pool said of her team's play at the service line.

"We talk about service pressure all the time, and that we need to bring that to each game, being aggressive. It might mean we're missing a few at the start of the game to find our serve and find our aggression, but that's okay because we've got each other's back and support to keep pushing."
 
Alberta moves on to play No. 5 seed Montreal in the semi finals tomorrow at 8 pm CT.  
 
"It's always different playing teams you haven't seen during the season. We have our work cut out for us making sure we know them really well going into tomorrow," said O'Dwyer.
 
"It's a rematch of last year's quarterfinals, so it should be interesting, and historically Montreal and Alberta have had a lot of nationals battles, so there's always a little extra in those battles."
 
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