EDMONTON - Allie Moore had a game-high 11 kills as the Alberta Pandas beat the rival MacEwan Griffins 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-12) in an exciting Friday evening matchup at the Saville Centre.
It was a much closer game than the score suggests, as the Pandas trailed for much of the first and second sets as the Griffins played sound defence against one of the best offences in the country. However, the hosts were able to battle back in the first two sets, and dominated the third en route to their 17th win of the season, a mark which clinches the top seed in the Canada West playoffs. The Griffins currently sit in tenth-place at 7-12, and with the UBCO Heat loss to UBC tonight have clinched the final playoff spot in the conference. They will jockey with Winnipeg for the ninth-seed, but are assured to play next weekend in the play-in series.
Allie Moore paced the hosts with her 11 kills, second-most in her campaign so far, while Abby Guezen chipped in a cool 10 as the Alberta offence generally found some room hitting .350 on the day. The blockline was also stellar, only allowing the Griffins to hit to the tune of a .048 percentage. Alyshia Bryks was a standout for the team from 104th, as she finished with a team-high kills and was the focal point for an attack that at times looked stellar.
It was a fun back-and-forth start to the opening set, as MacEwan took an early one-point lead and held that scoreline until the midway point in the frame. However, the momentum changed when, at 15-15, rookie libero Leyton Balint made an incredible punch save on a great attack, and the ensuing MacEwan opportunity was snuffed out by a solo block from Ronnie Dickson, who ranks third in the Canada West in blocks-per-game. From there, the Pandas would go on a 10-3 run to take the opener 25-18. Alberta's Abby Guezen and MacEwan's Alyshia Bryks led the set with three kills apiece.
MacEwan fired back to start the second set, taking advantage of some Alberta errors to go up 14-12 at the halfway point, which soon grew to a 22-20 lead down the stretch. However, some strong attacks from the Pandas would knot the game at 23-23, and force successive Griffins timeouts. However, Allie Moore would have a stellar kill, then a saving dig on the next point to lead Alberta to a 26-24 set win. It was an impressive set from MacEwan nonetheless, as Bryks and Arden Butler finished with four kills a piece. Alberta was paced by Moore, who had a set-high six kills, and Guezen who finished with five.
The Griffins seemed to use all of their energy up in the phenomenal second set, as Alberta cruised to a 5-0, then 14-5 lead in the third behind a .565 hitting percentage in the frame. They would take the set, and game, with a dominant 25-12 victory.
The teams return to action tomorrow in the last regular season game before the Canada West playoffs begin next weekend.
