Cougars come out on top

COUGAR WOMEN

January 18, 2012 - The Cougars women's volleyball team used a balanced attack, timely blocking and a little resiliency in downing the visiting SAIT Trojans 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-16 and 25-16) in a Wednesday night affair at Kenyon Court.

Middle Lindsey Kist put together her best performance of the season, tallying a game high 14 kills, more than doubling her previous best of six, while crafty left-side Kate Porta put up another strong performance racking up 13 kills and 15 digs.

The Cougars started slowly in the games first set, falling behind 3-0 early, before getting on the board on a Trojans service error. The two teams would trade barbs throughout the majority of the first.

With the Cougars leading 13-11, Mount Royal would start to assert their dominance, stringing together an 8-1 run to pull away to 21-12 - finally winning the first set 25-14. Porta finished the first with five kills, while Kist added four of her 14 on the night.

The second set, started in eerily similar fashion, as the Trojans jumped out to another early 3-0 lead, before the Cougars once again registered their first point on a missed serve.

Like the first, the Cougars would respond well in the middle of the frame, capitalizing on their opportunities, eventually taking an 18-14 lead past the half-way point of the second - however, unlike the first, the Cougars couldn’t complete the job, as the Trojans scrapped together a series of points, culminating in a 23-23 tie.

The Trojans would pounce on the opportunity, finishing with a block in the middle as they stole the second set 25-23.

The third set would sway heavily in favour of the Cougars, as they seemed to regroup and find their groove, dominating the Trojans on their way to an 11-4 lead.

Plagued by poor passing and sloppy defence, the Cougars pulled away with a 25-16 set win and a 2-1 match lead.

With the momentum clearly in their favour, the Cougars would once again dial up the offense from all spots on the court, overwhelming the Trojans who simply could not keep pace with the Cougars high octane attack – as they cruised away with another 25-16 set win in the fourth and the match 3-1.

The Cougs’ were able to keep Caia Morstad in check, as the talented outside registered just nine kills in the midweek affair, while Emily Krywitsky shouldered the load for the Trojans, putting up a season best 11 kills in the loss.

The Cougars and Trojans won’t meet again until February 8, when the Cougars return the favour and head cross-town to the SAIT Campus Centre – prior to, the Cougars will get set for a home-and-home series the King’s University College Eagles, January 27-28.
 

COUGAR MEN

It was like a Wild West shootout on Kenyon Court Wednesday night, as Cougar men and SAIT Trojans both came out guns blazing, in one of the top matches of the season, as the Cougars out gunned the Trojans on their way to a 3-1 victory (26-28, 26-24, 31-29 and 25-17).

Three of the games four sets went past the 25 point mark, including an exhilarating fourth set that didn’t see a winner crowned until 31 points.

Five players totaled over 13 kills apiece, including Colton deMan, arguably one of the top players in the ACAC, who put together his best performance of the season, reigning down a season high 24 kills to go along with 11 digs.

Dan Durham registered 15 kills for MRU, while Lucas Rauwerda (13), Thomas Haight (16) and Darcy Froese (17) all reached double-digit kill totals for the visitors in a losing cause.
The evening featured tons of back-and-forth action, highlight reel kills, stout defence, and amazing blocking – you name it, this game had it.

After dropping the first set 26-28, the Cougars went on a three set run, finishing in a 25-17 fourth set win that sealed the deal for MRU.

But it didn’t come easy, as neither team give an inch, matching each other blow for blow on a number of occasions – leaving fans on the edge of their seats throughout the night.

Durham says the team has been putting in extra time in playing their best when it matters most.

“We’ve been working a lot on performing in high pressure situations,” said Durham. “Serving under pressure and making sure we make good plays in transition. We want to keep the ball in play and force them to react and make big plays – I thought we really came through in the clutch tonight. ”

Durham said the team also takes a bit of solace in beating the Trojans, as a number of strong bonds exist between the two teams outside the court.

“A lot of the guys know each other outside of here and are friends, and you definitely don’t want to lose to your buddies,” said Durham. “It stops you from having to hear about it next time you talk - it’s just a good rivalry and great to have in the city.”

For the Cougars, Wednesday’s match puts them back in the win column after dropping a pair of games to the Briercrest Clippers last weekend.

The win improves the Cougars to 10-5 on the season, while the loss drops the Trojans to 8-5.

The Cougars will get a chance to rest and recuperate this weekend before preparing for a home-and-home with the King’s University College Eagles.

The next home game for the men and women will be on Saturday, January 28 at 6 and 8 pm as the take on the Eagles.