Pandas punch ticket to nationals with bronze match win

Abbotsford, BC – Lauryn Tremblay and the University of Alberta Pandas are heading back to Edmonton with medals around their necks, as they closed out a 3-1 (25-20, 26-24, 14-25, 25-22) win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in Friday night's Canada West bronze medal match.

The win earns the Pandas a berth in the U SPORTS National Championship from March 15-17 In Hamilton, ON. 

After the Pandas rode an 18-10 lead to a first set win, a Tremblay kill put them up 19-12 in the second. The teams traded short runs to see UFV trail 23-17, but three kills from Lauren Attieh, and an ace from Natalie Crews saw them pull it all the way back to 24 apiece. However, a kill from Laila Johnston and a block from Ronnie Dickson righted the ship for the Pandas as they took it 26-24.

Fisher started the Cascades on the front foot in the third, as her strong serving found her an ace and her team an 8-0 lead. A pair of side-outs brought Gabrielle Attieh up to serve, and she followed up with a kill and an ace to put UFV up 13-1 and the cruised to take the set. 

The comeback was not meant to be in the fourth, however. A pair of aces from Dickson gave Alberta a 19-13 lead, and despite another strong serving run from UFV's Fisher, to square it up at 19, three Johnston kills down the stretch set up an Allie Moore ace to seal it.

"From our side it was a really gritty performance, just sticking with it when things weren't going our way," said Alberta head coach Carolyn O'Dwyer. "At this time of year that is how you have to play, especially against such a strong team like UFV. To keep our season going is exciting, and now moving on to that quarterfinal we will look to do the same thing there."

"I think we feel really prepared. That is something that is really special about our conference. It's week in and week out that you are having to battle and go through those tough moments."

Tremblay and Fisher were named the Mikasa players of the game for each team after the match.

Tremblay and Johnston led the Pandas with 13 kills each, while Dickson had five blocks and Justine Kolody had 38 assists. 

Talia Attieh was strong offensively, leading UFV with 17 kills and hitting .308, while Lauren and Gabby Attieh had 13 and 11 kills respectively. Fisher, G. Attieh, and Crews each finished the match with two aces, and libero Emily Matsui ended with 17 digs.