Women win, men drop

With the first half of the ACAC volleyball season in the books, the Mount Royal Cougars volleyball teams will use the hiatus to do one thing – rest.

With both teams nursing a variety of injuries to key players, the break will give both teams a much needed break to get healthy before competition resumes in 2011.

Cougar Women
With setter Mackenzie Allen on the mend, the team turned to fifth-year middle Diyon Van Nistelrooy to lead the offensive charge from the setters’ position, a role she’s never filled in her half-decade with the Cougars.

If you didn’t know though, you wouldn’t be able to tell she wasn’t a natural fit, as Van Nistelrooy led the Cougars to an outstanding four-set victory 25-17, 25-22, 18-2 and 25-17.
On the receiving end of Van Nistelrooy’s sets were middle Julia Pasieka (eight kills), Megan MacLean (six kills) and Fallon Middlemiss (five kills).

Andrea Price and Breanna Estabrook also both missed the game due to various ailments, leaving the Cougars without two of their top three offensive threats, in addition to their setter.

The team however, didn’t seem to miss a beat, as a number of players stepped out of their regular positions to help fill the void.

“We had three starters out of the match and our team rallied to put one of their best performances of the season at Kings,” said Head coach Sandra Lamb.

“The team battled hard this weekend, many athletes played in unfamiliar positions but it is a true testament to the depth we have – I was very impressed.”

On Saturday, with Allen returning to the setter’s position, Van Nistelrooy was able to transition back into her normal role, as the Cougars were able to bounce the visitors once again, this time in straight sets 25-15, 25-18 and 25-19.

Julia Pasieka and Van Nistelrooy were strong on the attacks, registering eight and seven kills respectively, while Castell Van Paridon, seeing her first real extended action of the season, tallied six kills and six digs in the winning effort.

With the pair of wins, the Cougars women’s team improves to a perfect 10-0 in the first-half of the season and earned the right to host the ACAC women’s volleyball championships February 25 - 27, 2011.

More details to come, but the Cougar women will certainly relish playing on their home court for a potential ACAC title.

Cougar Men
The Cougars men’s team was left licking their wounds after dropping a pair of matches to the King’s University College Eagles.

With a number of players not dressing in the weekend’s matches due to ‘internal team matters’ the Cougars were left shorthanded versus the top ranked Eagles and had a tough time filling in the gaps.

Dan Durham continues to be an offensive force, seemingly unstoppable all season, the talented left-side contributed a game high 11 kills, while teammates Will Young and Lucas Stepanko combined for 17 kills.

The Cougars were able to pull out the first set, 25-19, but dropped the following three, 9-25, 22-25 and 18-25.

On Saturday, the team continued to battle hard, including an epic 38-36 set the team dropped, but at the end of the night, the Eagles proved to be too much for a short-handed Cougars team, winning straight sets 25-18, 38-36 and 25-21.

With the pair of losses, the Cougar men dropped to 4-6, a spot unfamiliar to coach Shawn Sky’s team who perennially rank among the nation’s best.

Fortunately for the Cougars, the season is only half-way done, with plenty of time to rest up and show the ACAC what they are truly made of in the second semester.

Both volleyball teams will be on a hiatus from league play until the January 7/8th weekend when they square off against the Augustana Vikings in a home and home.