EDMONTON - The Alberta Pandas were in fine form Saturday evening, hitting a season high .447% on the attack as they dispatched the Winnipeg Wesmen 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-18) at the Saville Centre.
The hosts were led by Abby Guezen, who recorded a game-high 13 kills to go with a scorching .812 attacking percentage and five service aces. She was far from the only Panda who impressed, however, as six players recorded two or more kills as fifth-year setter Justine Kolody had her team rolling. The victory is their sixth-straight win, and moves them to 14-2 ahead of an exciting matchup next weekend against Thompson Rivers.
While Winnipeg was able to find some offence at times, they were thoroughly unable to stop a multi-pronged Alberta attack that caused them headaches for much of the game, and also struggled against a strong Pandas service game that recorded 11 aces. Brooke Duncalfe led the way for the visitors with a team-high nine kills, while setter Naomi Ungar had a good game with 26 assists and three impressive dump-kills. With the loss, the Wesmen move to 5-11 on the year, and look to climb up the standings with a rivalry series at home against the Manitoba Bisons.
The Pandas picked up from where they left off in yesterday's contest, going on a very early 5-0 run in the opening set to wrest control of the frame from the start. They would lead the Wesmen the rest of the way by a margin of five or greater, as they took the opener 25-18. Abby Guezen was the set leader in kills with six, while Ella Werbiski paced the visitors with four.
The second set would start very similarly, with the Pandas opening up an early 8-3, then 15-10 lead forcing the Wesmen to burn both timeouts in search of an answer to an Alberta attack that was hitting .450 at this point in the match. A 5-1 run would close out a dominant 25-13 set victory, one that saw four Pandas record two or more kills.
The third set was closer at the start, as the Wesmen behind Duncalfe were finally able to find some rhythm on offence. However, Guezen and the Pandas would strike back mid-set, forcing two quick Wesmen timeouts and eventually a 25-18 set and game win.
