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MVB: TRU (1) at MRU (3)

MRU men's volleyball swept the weekend against the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack, after winning the night in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18. 

After dropping a tough first set 22-25, the Cougars were able to regroup and came back into the second with a new life.

Jovan Stepanovic, Jonatan Da Silva and Chris Byam were all a part of the momentum shift. Byam was sitting with eight kills on 50 per cent attack after two sets, while Stepanovic was a wall on the back line. His positioning was textbook, always ready to dive into action and keep the Cougars alive. Da Silva has done an incredible job stepping in while Jackson Brennan is out on injury, and has taken this time to really prove he deserves a spot on court.

Byam went on to be crowned player of the game, with 17 kills, one dig and two blocks.

"Stay the course, we know what this team is capable of," said Byam. "It doesn't matter who's where. Every guy here has the ability."

Mount Royal took the second set 25-18, looking much more like the cohesive squad they are known to be. 

The men had a strong start in the third, creating distance between themselves and TRU, at one point leading by seven. 

Rylan Ibbetson began to shift momentum with a huge kill at the mid-way point of the third, with Thompson Rivers down by five. The shift brought TRU to tie the game at 21, forcing MRU into a timeout. 

Both teams went point for point coming out of the break, until MRU took the set 25-23, when Paul Dionne and Jacob Bretton threw up a huge block against Thundersky Walkingbe.

The final set was controlled from the Cougar side. They were eager to sweep the weekend and it showed They finally took the fourth in a 25-18 battle over TRU. 

MRU now advances to 13-3 on the season, with TRU 6-8. Next weekend MVB is back home against the UBC Thunderbirds, with a 6 p.m. start Friday night.

Catch the game live on Canada West TV.


Player of the game: Chris Byam


WVB: TRU (0) at MRU (3)

Cougars came into tonight hot off a five set victory last night and managed a clean three set victory tonight over Thompson Rivers University, 25-14, 25-16, 25-12. 

Ella Lawrence joined the starting line tonight, a well earned spot after her break-out performance in last night's game, and did not disappoint. The third year hitter put up six kills and four digs, keeping pace with her outstanding performance Friday. 

Lawrence was awarded player of the game unanimously, saying a key factor was how supportive her teammates were.

"It felt good to get out there and just figure out how I could contribute," said Lawrence. "It was just so nice to be out there with the girls."

Thompson Rivers looked much stronger from the start tonight, putting down a few kills early on and forcing a tight set. The score sat 9-9 when the first time out of the night was called by MRU. 

Mya Morgan, Emma Boyd and Lawrence joined the veteran line and made a flawless transition. They were major factors in a big run, leading 19-13 as TRU claimed their second time out of the set. 

Back-to-back aces by Morgan to restart the play demonstrated how connected this Cougars squad was tonight. Her success fueled the fire behind MRU through the remaining four points of play before the Cougars picked up their first set of the night, 25-14 over TRU, Pelland pushing the final ball over and into an open middle court.

The second set belonged to Mount Royal immediately. It was as if they had woken up and were meshing perfectly. TRU wasn't able to get more than 16 before MRU took the win.

The third was over quickly. Mount Royal was alive like never before. Following a perfect set with no errors and a 60 per cent hitting average, they were ready to end the game. 

Jessica Osczevski was back on court for the first time since near the beginning of the Fall semester and managed a clean game back with zero errors to her name. 

With a high energy and precision set under their belt, Mount Royal took the game with a final set score 25-12. 

MRU now advances to 11-5 on the season while TRU drops to 7-9. 

The women will host the UBC Thunderbirds next weekend at home in Kenyon. Catch the games on Canada West TV.


Player of the game: Ella Lawrence 


MHKY: MAN (0) at MRU (7)
 
The Mount Royal University Cougars men's hockey team completed the weekend sweep against the University of Manitoba Bisons in dominating fashion Saturday afternoon at Flames Community Arena with a 7-0 win.
 
Cougars' veteran defenceman Connor Blake kicked off the scoring with a whistling one-timer on the powerplay. The goal extends Blake's point streak to four games.
 
Just 32 seconds into the second period, Riley Sawchuk added to his league leading goal count. Nolan Yaremko made a perfect no-look pass from behind the net and Sawchuk quickly shot it past Bisons' goalie Ross Hawryluk.
 
Clayton Hanus blew the game wide open when he sniped his first goal as a Cougar to make it 3-0. The smooth-skating defenceman was playing in his fourth game with Mount Royal since joining the team during the holiday break. Hanus credits his teammates and the coaching staff to a seamless transition to Canada West hockey and university life.
 
"I came out here once or twice when I was in the western league, so I didn't know much about Calgary," said Hanus, a local of Excelsior, Minnesota. "I knew the guys on the team, the coaching staff were both really good. They made it an easy transition for me."
 
MRU kept the goals coming. Lane Gilliss scored a shorthanded goal and took a huge hit in the process but extended their lead to four. Ross Hawralyk was pulled in favour of Friday night's starter, Simon Harkness after Gilliss' goal.
 
Riley Sawchuk got his second of the game off a perfect backhand pass from Connor Bouchard. Sawchuk then completed the hat trick early in the third off another excellent feed from Bouchard.
 
Sawchuk return the favour when Bouchard got a goal of his own, with Sawchuk assisting. The duo combined for a total of seven points in today's game.
 
Saturday's tilt was wrapped up and Riley Sims earned the shutout for his Cougars squad. Today's win put MRU ahead of the Calgary Dinos for first place in Canada West, making the upcoming Crowchild Classic even more anticipated and important.
 
The Cougars will have a bye week to prepare for their matchup against the Dinos at the Saddledome. Tickets are available here.
 
Player of the game: Clayton Hanus



Away Games:

WBB: MRU (83) at UBCO (63)

MBB: MRU (79) at UBCO (91)

WHKY: MRU (4) at MAN (5)