Box Score Box Score

In a battle featuring two teams ranked in the top five in the CIS, the University of Regina Cougars scored a 3-1 victory over the Alberta Pandas on Friday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

No. 5 Alberta came out strong, winning the first set by a score of 25-15 to take an early lead in the match. The Pandas hit .343 during the first set, while the Cougars were held to an .095 hitting percentage.

The Cougars, however, had a big response on their home court. Regina tied up the match with a 25-22 win in the second set and won the third and fourth by scores of 25-16 and 25-19.

“We had a slower start than we would have liked, but I'm really pleased with the way we recovered,” Cougars head coach Melanie Sanford said. “There are still areas of our game we can be better in, but we're happy with the win tonight.”

Fifth-year middle Beth Clark was dynamite all match long for the Cougars, scoring a match-high 19 kills and leading all players with a blistering .486 hitting percentage. Tiffany Herman dished out 40 assists and added 13 digs for a double-double, while Meagan Onstad also had a double-double with ten kills and 15 digs.

Tiffany Proudfoot led Alberta with 14 kills and added 13 digs for the Pandas, while Krista Zubick had a match-high 17 digs.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night following the men's match. First serve is scheduled for 8 p.m.

NOTES: Regina's win on Friday night was the Cougars' first over Alberta in the regular season, breaking a streak of 26 consecutive conference wins by the Pandas.