Tanner Michalenko, Mount Royal Sports Information

CALGARY – The Mount Royal Cougars dropped their second game of the year on Friday night at Kenyon Court, falling to the still perfect UBC Okanagan Heat 3-1. (22-25, 18-25, 25-20, 20- 25)

The Cougars starting out great jumping out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, with Amy Gordon providing 2 service aces. They sustained a lead during the first half of the first set, proving that they could do more than just play with the #2 ranked Heat. UBCO finally grabbing their first lead of the night right around the halfway point, 12-11.

With the score 22-21, the Heat appeared to extend their lead to 23-21 on a ball that was ruled to be sent out of play by the Cougars. That call was reversed as it was clear the ball landed inbounds; the score now stood at 22-22. Mount Royal coaches were heard on the sidelines encouraging their players to use this ruling as a turning point.

After lengthy rallies the rest of the way, MRU dropped the first set 25-22 after Megan Festival of the Heat put the set away with the ace.

It was the Heat that jumped out to the early lead in the second set. With the score 7-2 UBCO, Mount Royal coach Sandra Lamb was forced to take the team's first timeout to try and turn the game around. However, the lead proved too much for the Cougars to come back from. Mount Royal failed the grab a lead during the second set, losing 25-18 after an Erin Drew kill to seal the set.

The third set saw the Cougars playing with much more energy and passion, jumping out to a 4-1 lead. The Heat came storming back to tie the set at 5-5. The two squads traded points back and forth until the score saw 12-12. The Cougars put together a 4-0 run they desperately needed, making the score 16-12. The Cougars survived a late 4-0 Heat run and managed to pull out the third set out with a score of 25-20 after a Heat attack error on the final point.

The Cougars continued to play with a sense of urgency in the fourth set. UBCO was forced to use both of their timeouts very early after the Cougars played with all the energy in the building and UBCO couldn't match the intensity.

However, trailing 13-7 after the second and last timeout, the Heat completely took all of the momentum from the Cougars scoring 19 of the last 25 points. Megan Festival provided the spark that the Heat needed during the run, serving up 4 straight points at a critical time in the match, giving her team a 2-point lead that they would not surrender. A couple Mount Royal attack errors and a Siobahn Fitzpatrick ace later, UBCO secured the match victory with a score of 25-20.

The 2-0 match deficit proved too much for the Cougars to recover from, ultimately giving UBCO the 3-1 match win. Mount Royal falls to 3-2 while UBCO stays perfect, 5-0.

The Cougars and Heat will play the second half of the weekend series tomorrow afternoon on Kenyon Court. First serve is scheduled for 4:00pm MST.