The University of Regina's women's volleyball team came roaring out of the gates with a huge first-set victory, but lost the next three as No. 9 Brandon salvaged a weekend split with a four-set victory on Saturday night in Brandon.
 
The Cougars could do no wrong in the first set, hitting .310 as a team and cruising to a 25-9 victory. They had four separate runs of at least four consecutive points, including a 6-0 run midway through the set with Michelle Sweeting serving.
 
But that would turn out to be the high point of the match for the Cougars, as it was all Brandon the rest of the way. The Bobcats jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second en route to a 25-18 win, followed that up with a 25-13 win in the third, and clinched the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth set.
 
Tori Dakin and Shanlee McLennan both had 10 kills for Brandon, while Nikki Majewski and Meaghan Robertson both had nine. Mary Thomson had 38 assists and 13 digs, while libero Donata Huebert finished with a team-high 17 digs to help the Bobcats improve to 8-6 on the season.
 
Having to settle for a weekend split after Friday's four-set win, the Cougars (4-10) were led by 12 kills apiece from both Sweeting and Chelsea Ziolkowski. Lindsay Braul had a career-high 19 digs to lead all players, while Tori Glynn finished with eight kills and 10 digs.
 
The Cougars will have the entire month of December off before returning to action with the New Year's Classic non-conference tournament in Edmonton from Jan. 2 through Jan. 4. The Canada West schedule resumes Jan. 9, with the Cougars at home against Trinity Western.