Griffins show glimpses of their potential in winning first set of the season before falling 3-1 to Wesmen
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
25 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
|
21 | 25 | 23 | 18 | 1 |
Team Stats
Winnipeg
| Game Statistics | Winnipeg | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .163 | .162 |
| Blocks | 9.0 | 10.0 |
| Digs | 54 | 50 |
| Aces | 8 | 7 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – This is how success starts.
It's tough to see it after a loss, but the glimpses shown by the MacEwan Griffins women's volleyball team on Saturday will eventually become a full panorama.
The young group finally won its first set of the season, but fell 3-1 to the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-18) at the David Atkinson Gym.
For those privy to the development a few years ago of the Griffins' super 2019-20 group, the glimpses are similar to what they showed a couple of years before making the Canada West playoffs for the first time.
On Saturday, there was Mariah Bereziuk alternating between soul-crushing kills and deft tips that kept the Wesmen off balance for much of the night. And there were huge moments by second-year attackers Alyshia Bryks and Arden Butler. Second-year setter Payton Shimoda also took a step forward with a solid performance.
"There were glimpses and it's just not a solid foundation right now, but I need the girls to understand what they're capable of," said interim head coach Dusty Freimark. "And when they see glimpses like this, it will start to build. It will build a foundation for us. It will just take us some time."
In other words, their game is coming. It was certainly a much better effort than Friday when MacEwan went quietly into the night.
"It is, but it's only going to come it we have the guts and the confidence and the courage to put it out there and see what we're capable of," said Freimark. "They need to know what they're capable of the only way is to be in it whole-heartedly."
The first set on Saturday was close as it skated towards the final points, but the Wesmen opened up a 4-0 run to get to 22-17 and wouldn't be denied. The set ended under confusion in the Griffins' end on a play that resulted in four hits.
Arden Butler played well on Saturday for the Griffins (Eduardo Perez photo).
After a slow start to the second set threatened to put the Griffins on the brink in the match, they spectacularly rallied back from a 10-2 hole, answering with a 6-0 run and finally taking the lead at 14-13 on a big Bereziuk block.
MacEwan's stretch from there saw them clicking like they haven't yet this season as Bronwyn Ettinger checked in for a service ace, Bryks had two massive kills and both Bereziuk and Butler were swinging away. Shimoda's ace put them up 24-21 and a Dana Dunbar block gave MacEwan its first set win of the season.
"I thought Bronwyn did a wonderful job coming off the bench, touching the ball and believing in the game plan," said Freimark. "And that's really hard to do. I thought Payton ran a good game as well. She continued to trust her hitters, which is huge and we're going to need her to run the offence to make sure everyone's involved.
"Mariah's a great player. She's going to get her kills, but we need everyone to be a part of this."
After another slow start in Set 3, finding themselves down 7-2, the Griffins clawed their way back again, steadily gaining more confidence. Bereziuk was especially dominant in the set, showing off her ability to be equally adept at fastballs and change-ups that kept the Wesmen guessing. She got the Griffins to 23-21 on a tip, but the Wesmen engineered a 4-0 run out of a timeout to take the set, ending it on an Ashleigh Laube swing.
And then the wheels fell off in the fourth set as the Griffins reverted back into their shell, much like Friday, spotting Winnipeg an insurmountable 17-7 lead. They didn't quit, however, perhaps building something for their next match by going on an inspired 6-1 run before Sarah McGee sent a cross-court kill wide to end the match.
"I think it just has to go back with is we're not whole-heartedly believing in ourselves yet," said Freimark of the slow start in Set 4. "When they push, we have to be able to withstand the push. We're just not there yet, but we'll get there.
"The message right now is we fight regardless of the scores. We're not giving it to anyone and I think at the end when they were working for their final points, that's when they were learning to compete. Even if the end goal is inevitable, we were still fighting and being in it. Those are the situations that will help us build on what we're working towards."
Next up for the Griffins is a visit to Saskatchewan on Oct. 28-29.
