Box Score Box Score

The University of Regina's women's volleyball team earned a berth to next weekend's CIS Championship with a marathon five-set victory over Trinity Western on Saturday night in the Canada West third-place match at the Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg.

The Cougars opened the match with a 25-20 win in the first set, but the Spartans replied with a 25-22 victory in the second. Regina squeaked out a 25-23 win in the third set, but Trinity Western tied the match again with a 25-21 win in the fourth.

In the fifth and deciding set, Regina jumped out to a 13-8 lead only to see the Spartans reel off four consecutive points to cut the deficit to just one point. The Cougars finally clinched the match with two points in a row, one from a Kaitlyn Hughes kill and the other from a Manitoba attack error.

Meagan Onstad was spectacular again for the Cougars, leading all players with 20 kills and tying for the match high with 20 digs. Tiffany Herman had 52 assists and 10 digs, while Solveig Nilson had eight kills and led Regina in both hitting percentage (.368) and blocks (5). Beth Clark contributed 14 kills to the victory, and Meagan Smith had 10 kills and just two errors on 24 attacks.

Kara Jansen Van Doorn had 19 kills and a .444 hitting percentage for the Spartans, while Amy Leschied had a match-high six blocks and Kim Klassen had 20 digs.

The Cougars will now prepare for the 2010 CIS Women's Volleyball Championship, which will be hosted next weekend by the University of Alberta. Seedings for the national tournament will be announced on Sunday.