CALGARY – The Mount Royal Cougars bounced back to force a game three after getting past the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 (26-24, 25-17, 23-25, and 25-16) to even their Canada West quarter-final series at 1-1.
 
Cougars head coach Sandra Lamb was satisfied with her team's efforts after dropping the opener.
 
"We definitely played a bit better defence and our consistency with our serving. We gave them a bit more trouble than we did last night. Overall, I think we just played a lot better and kept it flowing a lot better."
 
Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer acknowledged the shift of tides and is ready for game three.
 
"I think on our side we just totally gave away the first set. We had a massive lead and just didn't get it done. And the second set Mount Royal played really well defensively, cranked it up… We had some good performances yesterday and we just didn't quite match it today."
 
For Mount Royal, Dholi Thokbuom led with 15 points and 11 kills, followed by Haley Roe with 12.5 points and 10 kills. For British Columbia, Olivia Furlan and Anna Price led with 13 points and nine kills each.
 
Mount Royal's Cassidy Kitchen was blocked for the first point, but then earned a strong kill to retaliate. The Thunderbirds soon earned a six-point lead early in the set which the Cougars chipped away at as they regrouped their efforts. Thunderbirds' Furlan landed a series of service aces to hold the team strong. Just as it seemed they were going to run away with the score, the Cougars brought it to within a two-point gap. They coordinated to block several attempts by the Thunderbirds, tying the score at 24. Thokbuom continued their string of blocks to seal the final two points of the set.


 
Thunderbirds' Tessa Davis and Price opened the second set with two strong kills. The Cougars soon responded and built a four-point lead. It became a tense battle of trading points as the
T-Birds attempted to close the gap. Mount Royal was playing well defensively, proving it difficult for UBC to find open spots across the net. However, the 'Birds capitalized on kill opportunities, led by Furlan. The Cougars were able to hold their lead steady and take the set with a series of final blocks.
 
The third set was evenly matched as they traded points early on. Mount Royal was holding strong with their blocks while the Thunderbirds were taking every opportunity for kills. UBC pulled ahead for a brief moment with two points which turned into a four-kill series. The Cougars narrowed the gap at the last minute with a handful of service aces, but the Thunderbirds sealed it with two final kills.
 
Mount Royal began the fourth set with a hefty lead, giving the Thunderbirds only a single point opportunity before they reached an eight-point gap. They showed strong defences, blocking most of the attempts to score, at one point using every available limb. The Thunderbirds managed to slow their advance by strengthening their own defences. However, the Cougars earned a series of kills, Roe leading the charge. They held their wide lead until a final kill from Tasha Holness won the match for the Cougars.
 
Reimer was disappointed, but eager for what awaits in game three.
 
"That's why we play the game. Hopefully we'll just get rested, recovered, and ready to go!"
 
Lamb wasn't about to be overconfident, stressing that they still had quite a bit of work to do this weekend.
 
"It's just another grind… They've got a lot of guns over there. Just being able to understand which rotations are coming at us and again we just have to get ready with our defence and our blocking."
 
The Cougars will meet the Thunderbirds for the final time this weekend to break the split at 3 P.M. MST on Kenyon Court.