CALGARY - The Mount Royal University Cougars earned their first ever USPORTS medal on their home court against the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack. In a clean sweep of all three sets, the Cougars capitalized on strong kills to bring them to victory, earning a bronze medal.  

The Cougars' head coach Sandra Lamb was surrounded by revellers following the game. "The energy was great, not only in the gym but with our team. The girls were ready. They deserved this. We're on our own court and they earned that. This is a time to celebrate, this is our first ever medal at canada west."

Chad Grimm, head coach for the WolfPack, showed pride for his team's effort at the end of the season. "I think [Mount Royal] defended the ball extremely well and with our system, we didn't give them enough trouble… [They] blocked all night and obviously that led them to have a great night on the wings and when that happens it's tough to contain."

The set scores were: 25-21, 25-16, 25-12. 

For Mount Royal, Chantel Park led with 13 points and 11 kills, followed by Cassidy Kitchen with 12.5 points and 12 kills. For Thompson Rivers, Kseniya Kocyigit led with 9.5 points and seven kills, followed by Olga Savenchuk with 6.5 points and six kills. 

Mount Royal opened the scoring for the historical game with a kill from Carly Davies. Thompson Rivers was matching each of their steps. Mount Royal landed a series of quick kills to pull into an early lead of four points, led by Park and Dholi Thokbuom. The WolfPack were fighting hard to close the score gap, landing precise kills to keep their momentum. 

Coming out of the technical timeout, Thompson River found some new energy and landed a series of points. The Cougars regrouped to advance their lead, blocking several plays from the WolfPack. Nearing the set point, Thompson Rivers pushed hard, earning several points with Haley Roe landing a final service ace. However, with a quick kill from Thokbuom the Cougars sealed the first set. 

The Cougars took a slight lead early in the second as Thompson Rivers focused on their kills. Thokbuom was setting the pace for her team as they prevented several WolfPack plays from becoming successful. Thompson Rivers was staying close on Mount Royal's heels, trailing by just four points by the timeout. 

The Cougars pushed hard right out of the gate to earn a healthy lead. The WolfPack were able to block a handful of plays, but were overwhelmed by the flow of kills from the Cougars. With a final snipe from Cassidy Kitchen, they won the set with a nine point lead. 

Thompson Rivers began the third set with ferocity, earning a service ace to set their pace. They followed with a series of points, including a kill from Kocyigit. The Cougars rallied together once more to take back the court, pulling into a narrow lead. The WolfPack held steady, working to block their plays. However, the Cougars were firm with their attacks, pushing forward into a wide lead once more. 

The WolfPack was pushing to close the gap, their efforts leading into extended rallies. Park was leading the team into the final points with Kitchen stealing several points of her own. The WolfPack earned two points to push a final effort, one of them blocking Park's own attempt. Yet with one final play, Park landed a striking kill to finish the match. 

The crowd rushed the court to celebrate the Cougars' historic victory. There were smiles across the lineup as they were awarded their bronze medals and roars from the stands. 

The WolfPack was respective of their opponents following the match and Grimm said they were now ready for a rest. "We're going to take a couple weeks. We've been traveling a lot, we're going to take a couple weeks off and tend to our off-season schedule."

The Cougars will play their final weekend in the national championships against the University of Calgary Dinos on March 13th to 15th at the Jack Simpson court. 

Lamb has a few ideas for the final weekend of the season for her team. "We're probably going to be scouting some teams we've never played before, so we've gotta get on that pretty quick and make some game plans. It's about refining right now and just refining what we're going to be doing in those game plans. But embracing it and enjoying it."

To attend the final Cougars match of the year against their classic rivals, purchase your tickets here. The weekend's schedule is available on the USPORTS website for fan's reference. 

The match will be broadcasted live at USPORTS.LIVE starting this Friday.