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Meagan Smith

Cougars defeat Toronto; finish fifth at nationals

3/7/2010 1:55:29 PM

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The University of Regina's women's volleyball team secured a fifth-place finish at the 2010 CIS Championship after recording a straight-sets victory over the Toronto Varsity Blues in the consolation final.

The Cougars trailed for the majority of the first set, with Toronto leading by as many as four points. The Varsity Blues led 21-18 late in the set, but the Cougars scored seven of the final eight points to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The second set was just as close, with the two teams exchanging leads several times before the Cougars took a 25-23 win.

The third set was a different story, as the Cougars jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 25-17 win to clinch the match.

"In the first and second set, we got off to a slower start than we wanted," Cougars head coach Melanie Sanford said. "Toronto is a very good team and we knew they were going to do things with their offence that would affect our timing. The key was to be patient and not get frustrated, and I think by the middle of the second set and into the third, we were pretty settled in."

Appropriately, the match's final point was off a kill by Beth Clark, who along with Meagan Smith are the only two fifth-year Cougars.

"In terms of their development as student-athletes and in their role as leaders, you couldn't ask for more," Sanford said. "They both did an outstanding job leading us through the quarterfinals, the (Canada West) Final Four, and the championships this weekend. They've helped laid a strong groundwork for other players to come in and started a new tradition for our program, and that's what it should be about for the fifth years."

Smith had 10 kills, five digs, and two blocks in her final match as a Cougar. Meagan Onstad led the team with 12 kills, while Clark ended up with 10 kills and five blocks. Tiffany Herman had 33 assists, eight digs, and four blocks for Regina, while Rebecca Rink had a match-high 16 digs.

Heather Bansley registered the match's lone double-double for Toronto, tying for the match high with 12 kills and adding 10 digs. Karlee Diesing had 14 digs for the Varsity Blues.

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