Alberta rides momentum in 3-0 victory over TRU to advance to CW Final

Recap by UofA Sports Information, Photos by Connor Hood

EDMONTON - Laila Johnston and Abby Guezen combined for 26 kills to lead the No. 1 Alberta Pandas to a straight set (25-20, 25-21, 25-23) Canada West Semifinal victory over the No. 4 TRU WolfPack Friday evening at the Saville Centre.

The three-set scoreline does not tell the story of this one, which was hotly contested from the start and featured massive swings of momentum in front of a raucous Saville crowd. However, the Pandas (18-2, 3-0 playoffs) were able to produce and maintain leads better than the visiting 'Pack (14-6, 2-2 playoffs), and will be playing for their second-straight, and 13th overall, Canada West Championship tomorrow night.

Johnston and Guezen led an Alberta attack that outhit TRU .227-to-.117, a massive reason why the Pandas were able to come out on top in each of the tight frames. As well, the Pandas went on multiple 10-plus point runs, never conceding an inch when the 'Pack were pressing.

"TRU, they are a team that starts really well," said Johnston postgame, "so knowing how to handle that, not being too taken aback by it, and ultimately playing the long game was important to us."

With the loss, the WolfPack will play in the Bronze Medal Final tomorrow at 5 PM MST. They are in the midst of the most successful season in program history, and a CW third-place finish would be another first for a resurgent TRU squad. Hail Ward was terrific on the day for the visitors, finishing with a team-high ten kills and three blocks, as well as being a massive reason TRU was able to hang in when Alberta momentum was proving too strong.

Some early nerves, stellar defence, or a bit of both were responsible for a 15-15 scoreline in the opening frame as neither team hit above .100. However, after the WolfPack offence thawed into a 20-17 lead, the Pandas would roar to life behind a loud Saville Centre faithful. Starting with an emphatic Peyton Henderson kill, they would score the next seven points to take the opener 25-20. Abby Guezen paced all players with five kills, while Justine Kolody had a kill, nine assists, and three service aces in the frame to lead Alberta to a gritty win.

The WolfPack came out swinging in the second, thanks in no small part to CW Second Team All-Star Rida Erlalelitepe who had two straight service aces to pop TRU out to a 10-3 lead. However, four-year Alberta veteran Laila Johnston would fire the crowd and home side back to life recording five kills on what would end up a 12-2 Pandas run which would lead to a 25-21 set win. Johnston had an incredible eight kills in the frame, while the Alberta offence hit .441 to take a commanding lead over the 'Pack.

The Pandas appeared to be cruising to an easy third set victory, and at 20-12 they appeared ready to land a knockout blow, but CW Coach of the Year Chad Grimm was able to rally his team to an 11-3 run that cut the deficit to just one point. However, a strong Alberta defence would cap this one off, winning two of the last three points and advancing to the CW Championship match.

MIKASA Players of the Game:
Alberta - #9 Justine Kolody
Thompson Rivers - #15 Hail Ward