Griffins complete weekend sweep with epic five-set victory over Mount Royal
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
18 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
|
|
25 | 21 | 25 | 15 | 15 | 3 |
Team Stats
Mount Royal University
| Game Statistics | Mount Royal University | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .153 | .185 |
| Blocks | 12.0 | 8.0 |
| Digs | 73 | 63 |
| Aces | 6 | 9 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Looking like a completely different team than their 1-5 start to the season would indicate, the suddenly confident MacEwan Griffins completed a weekend sweep of the Mount Royal University Cougars with a 3-2 victory on Saturday.
Rolling out to a 2-1 lead, they wobbled in the fourth set but quickly hit the reset button and didn't look back in Set 5 for a 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 15-25, 15-11 win that improves their record to 3-5. MRU is now 2-4.
"It's progress," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler. "It's lots of belief, for sure, that we can do the things we do well against good teams. That's a very good team out there.
"They're right in that range of teams that we're going to compete with for a playoff spot. That puts us in a really good position having swept the weekend."
So many individual performers deserve kudos on the Griffins, who got contributions across the board in the win.
Kara Frith led the way with 15 kills, two aces, four blocks and 19.0 points. Alyshia Bryks had so many confident moments with a hammer of a swing that produced 10 kills, along with 13 digs.
Setter Payton Shimoda kept the attack rolling with 42 assists.
Then there was the play of Anna von Krosigk with four of her nine kills in the fifth set. Alana Murr also came up with some big fifth set points. And Anika Buys was a force in the middle with eight kills and four blocks.
No win story would have been complete also without the play of libero Kaitlin Rolph, who had 18 digs, many recorded in clutch moments, such as on match point when she raced to throw a one-armed swing at a ball heading for the stands to save it before an MRU miscommunication ended the game.
MATCH POINT!
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) November 16, 2025
The decisive point was kept alive on a great effort by Kaitlin Rolph as the @MacEwanGriffins win 15-11 and take the match 3-2 over @MRUCougars.
It's a weekend sweep that gets MacEwan back to 3-5 in the standings.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/oCU3vANT3w
"I journal before every game and one of my defensive goals is to have a goal mentality and never let any ball hit the ground without my 100 per cent effort," said Rolph. "I just knew chasing that ball down it's either going to be up or I'm going to die trying."
And that's a glimpse into the effort that this team is giving right now.
"I think it gives us a lot of momentum and excitement," said Rolph of the weekend sweep, which also includes beating the Cougars 3-1 on Friday. "We have a bye next weekend but going into our next home series against Sask (Nov. 28-29), I think it gives us a lot of encouragement knowing this is a level we can play at. I think we're really determined to keep this flow going."
MacEwan jumped out to a 12-4 lead in Set 1 and weathered a small storm when the Cougars closed to 18-14, but Rolph came up with a huge dig that allowed Bryks to smash it for a 20-14 advantage. They ended it on double block from von Krosigk and Murr.
SET 1 WIN
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) November 15, 2025
After a strong start, the @MacEwanGriffins close out the opening set 25-18 in their favour after some strong play at the net.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/aLmIyCwiey
It was a terrific evening for von Krosigk, who played a big factor in a win on her 20th birthday.
"It's really cool," she said. "I was really supported by my teammates all day. They sang me happy birthday like three times. It was really fun to be out there with all my friends."
MRU struck back with a win in Set 2 when they put the Griffins in some serve-receive trouble, ending it on a MacEwan service error.
That led to a back-and-forth third set where the teams traded points throughout. However, again Rolph came up with a massive dig that turned the tide in MacEwan's favour, allowing them to reach 20 first. After a Frith tip earned the Griffins a set point, the set ended on a Cougars' net violation.
This tremendous dig by Kaitlin Rolph swung the momentum of Set 3 back in @MacEwanGriffins favour!
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) November 15, 2025
Not only did it get them to 20 first, the Griffins cruised to a 25-20 win after that.
Griffins are up 2-1 in the match vs. @MRUCougars.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/1goAui85X8
Set 4 was the best of the night for the visitors as they raced to a 7-1 lead as the Griffins suffered through a spell of miscommunication and unforced errors. They never looked back, winning handily, but if there was a small consolation for the Griffins, they forced MRU to win it on their third set point attempt after back-to-back kills by Bryks and Frith.
With all the momentum, the Cougars gained a 2-0 lead in the fifth set, and it seemed like they were on their way. Not so fast. Von Krosigk struck with two kills and it was 3-3. Buys' ace made it 5-3. Von Krosigk went off the block and they switched sides with MacEwan up 8-5.
She wasn't done as the dig on von Krosigk's smash came back across the net and out. 9-5.
With MRU threatening to come back, Frith took over, hitting one down line for 12-8, going off hands for 13-8 and going off the block and out for 14-10, setting up the winning point.
"I think it was just really great for the team," said von Krosigk. "This is such a team win. We've been working so hard every week and just to see it pay off, and everyone have such high energy and have fun out there is just amazing."
W��| RECAP@GriffinsWVB completes weekend sweep with epic 3-2 win over @MRUCougars on the backs of a total team effort, including a strong fifth-set performance by Anna von Krosigk on her birthday!#GriffNation
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) November 16, 2025
STORY➡️https://t.co/vEe5pgeoLq pic.twitter.com/rdrBtMCOgW
