Box Score

The University of Regina's women's volleyball team lost a five-set match to No. 5-ranked Brandon University on Friday night as both teams opened their Canada West schedules in Brandon.

The Cougars battled back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in the match with 25-21 victories in both the second set and the fourth. In the deciding set, neither team led by more than one until the Bobcats broke a 9-9 tie with two straight points, then ended the match with four straight points. Back-to-back kills by Vaovai Aiono closed out the 15-10 win for Brandon, which improves to 1-0 on the season.

Shanlee McLennan had a team-high 16 kills for Brandon and tied libero Donata Huebert for the team lead with 14 digs to notch a double-double. Tori Dakin (13) and Alexis Loewen (10) both broke into double figures in kills and both players collected six block assists. Setter Kellie Baker had 45 assists and nine digs.

Desiree Ates led the Cougars (0-1) with 20 kills, the second highest single-game total for the fifth-year outside hitter. Michelle Sweeting had a fine game at middle for the U of R, tying her career high with 16 kills and leading all players with a .556 hitting percentage. Making her first career start, setter Leah Shevkenek had 52 assists, 13 digs, and four blocks while Tori Glynn's match-high 20 digs crushed her previous career high of 12.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night in Brandon. The match is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. (4:00 Saskatchewan time) and will again be webcast at canadawest.tv.