Abbotsford, BC – The MacEwan University Griffins women's volleyball team overcame a slow start to earn their program's first Canada West playoff victory with a 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 27-25, 25-18) win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades. With the result the Griffins force a deciding third game in the best-of-three play-in round after the Cascades took game one.
The win is the Griffins first in the postseason since they joined U SPORTS (then CIS) and the Canada West conference in 2014.
"It was all about mindset," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler. "We didn't do a good job last night of passing the ball and we needed to stabilize that, which I thought we did a really good job at. It gives Payton [Shimoda] a whole lot more options offensively, so for us it was just doing those things that were controllable on our side of the net."
Shimoda had a match-high 36 assists for the Griffins on the night, while Alyshia Bryks finished with a match leading 17 kills. Kara Frith added 12 kills and three aces on the night.
Wandler praised the play of his setter after the match.
"Payton [Shimoda] is a fifth-year setter, and I think when you recognize you have a hot hand, you roll with it. That's what Alyshia [Bryks] was. [Shimoda] just went to her, and she kept on scoring."
UFV's Talia Attieh had a team-high 11 kills to go with 12 digs in the match, while Lauren Attieh added 10 kills, and Cailin Bitter chipped in 26 assists and three aces.
MacEwan struggled to get their offence rolling in the opening set, as they had 10 errors and just nine kills. UFV took advantage and continued where they left off on Friday, collecting 12 kills with just four errors enroute to a 25-18 opening set win.
The Griffins rebounded in the second, as kills from Frith and Arden Butler forced a UFV timeout with MacEwan up 7-3. The quick lead would prove to be massively important as both teams traded shots for much of the set. After Bryks combined with Anika Buys, for a big block to set up set point, Bryks would finish off the frame 25-18 with a kill down the line.
Both teams struggled with attacking errors in the third combining for 11 in the early part of the frame. UFV would grab an 18-13 advantage after a Cailin Bitter service run, but gritty play from the Griffins would see them claw back to tie it up at 19. After the teams traded short runs, MacEwan would fend off a UFV set point before scoring three straight to close out the set 27-25.
Frith took over for the Griffins to start the fourth, scoring two kills and two aces to help her team grab a 6-1 lead. A pair of Bryks kills would stretch the advantage to 18-9 and, despite a late charge from UFV, MacEwan would hold on to seal the match 25-18.
"There is no room for mourning or frustration in the playoffs," emphasized UFV head coach Janelle Rozema after the match. "We went directly to thinking about what we have to do tomorrow, and what we learned about our opponent today. We are staying determined and focused on our ultimate goal."
The result sets up the deciding game on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. PT at the UFV Athletic Centre, and live on Canada West TV. Both teams will be looking to find the win in the single game playoff with the prize being a spot in the Canada West Quarterfinals and a trip to Vancouver next week to take on the UBC Thunderbirds.
