EDMONTON – Abby Guenzen recorded a game-high16 kills in what was a contender for game-of-the-year in an Alberta Pandas 3-2 (14-25, 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 15-11) victory over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday night at the Saville Centre.
Both teams have a lot on the line this weekend as the jockeying for positioning is almost at a close in the Canada West playoff race. UBC entered the contest in third place at 14-2, while fourth place Alberta was one game behind at 13-3 making this an important matchup for both elite squads and it did not disappoint.
Guezen and the Pandas were able to win on razor-thin margins, out-hitting the Thunderbirds by a .210-to-.194 mark. A large part of the victory was their performance at the blockline, where they recorded nine blocks to UBC's 6.5. Abby Moore, the Canada West leader in blocks per set, led this game with three blocks herself. The Thunderbird tandem of
Lucy Borowski and
Akash Grewal had a phenomenal showing for the Vancouver outfit, recording 15 and 14 kills respectively while
Olivia Furlan registered a game-high 19 digs.
The first two sets were polar opposites, as UBC thrashed the home side in the first set to the tune of a 25-14 win, while losing 20-25 in the second, a late run making the scoreline much closer as the teams traded momentum.
The third and fourth sets were incredibly tight, as the defence on both sides was stalwart. Grewal was stellar here, as the Pandas were unable to contain her from the left side. Equally as impressive in the later sets was Laila Johnston, who finished with 13 kills, 10 of them coming in the last three frames.
The final set was largely controlled by the home side, and the fans that stayed through the 11:05 local finish time. Alberta hit .400 in the set, by far their best mark of the day, and saw Justine Kolody pocket two service aces en route to a 15-11 set and match win.
The teams, with identical 14-3 records return to action Saturday evening for a 5:30 p.m. PT start in what promises to be a fitting conclusion to this rivalry as it is the last time they will see each other in the regular season.
