Box Score Jarron Mueller, MRU Cougars .
CALGARY – The Mount Royal University Cougars took down the defending U SPORTS National Champion University of British Columbia Thunderbirds this Sunday on Kenyon Court. The Cougars were led by veteran middle blocker
Tasha Holness who finished with a match high 11 kills and a 0,409% attack percentage.
The second ranked Cougars took on the seventh ranked Thunderbirds in game three of the best-two-out-of-three Canada West quarterfinals. The Cougars won 3-0 in straight sets with the scores being 25-13, 25-22 and 25-22.
Sunday started with UBC taking a demanding 7-2 lead. MRU was able to fight back thanks to Cougars fifth year
Chantel Park who went on a nine-point service run to take the set 25-13. They continued their momentum with a 25-22 second set win. Holness controlled the net with two solo blocks and five block assist, which doubled anyone else in the match.
UBC showed fight as they mounted a comeback led by #19 Brynn Pasin with a team high seven kills on 24 attempts. The second year was able to spark the Thunderbirds to a 19-14 lead, however the Cougars battled back to win the set 25-21 and the match. Holness was awarded the player of the match and was a force offensively.
"I think we battled pretty hard defensively today, but we didn't have enough answers to stop some of their middle attacking," said Thunderbirds Head Coach Doug Reimer.
Head Coach of the Cougars
Sandra Lamb also pointed out the importance of the middle match up between Holness and UBC star Gabriella Attieh.
"We were able to touch her attacks and slow her down as she is a big piece of their team." Coach Lamb was also proud of her own team stating, "once again this team is pretty resilient and showed what they can do and being able to battle."
The MRU Cougars will now move onto the Canada West Semi-finals against number three ranked University of Alberta Pandas next weekend at home in Calgary. The first game of the best two-out-of-three series takes place at 6:00 PM MST Friday, February 28 on Kenyon Court. It can also be watched on canadawest.tv presented by Co-op.
