Down two sets to none needing to win three straight for their first Canada West win of the season? No problem for the University of Regina's women's volleyball team, which won the third, fourth, and fifth sets to defeat the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

After Manitoba took the opening sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-20, Regina head coach Melanie Sanford turned over half of her starting lineup and put in rookies Dominika Janowczyk, Diana Lumbala, and Haley Wagar. And that would be the winning combination, as Sanford didn't make another sub the entire game and the Cougars took the next three sets by scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-11.

But while the four rookies that were on the floor – including setter Erika Burns – played a huge role in pushing the match to five sets, it was a veteran that put them over the top in the fifth. Manitoba held an 8-6 lead at the side switch, but that's when fifth-year outside hitter Tori Glynn went to work. Glynn reeled off four kills and two blocks for the Cougars, as she was directly responsible for six of the team's final seven points in the win.

"Tori found a way to elevate her own performance in the fifth, and that made it so much easier for the team to finish it off," Sanford said. "She was just outstanding over the last few points."

Glynn finished with a team-high 14 kills for the Cougars (1-11) and tied for the match lead with 18 digs, while Wagar came off the bench to finish with 10 kills and seven digs while hitting at a .321 clip. Burns filled up the stat sheet for the U of R, ending up with 45 assists, seven digs, six blocks, and four kills, while both Molly Wade-Cummings and Janowczyk finished with five blocks. Libero Taylor Ungar ended up with 15 digs.

"For the team to come away with this win, after being down two sets and given everything we've gone through this semester, it's just a great way to finish off the first half of the schedule," Sanford said. "I'm just really happy for the team and I'm sure this will restore a ton of confidence and faith in ourselves as we head into the break."

Haillie Bujan led Manitoba with 15 kills and was one of four Bisons in double digits in digs, finishing with 16. Cassie Bujan tied Glynn for the match high with 18 digs, while Cassidy Pearson had 13 and Sydney Purvis had 11 to go along with 42 assists, four aces, and four blocks. Kalena Schulz also had 11 kills, nine digs, and four aces for the Bisons, who drop to 2-10 on the year with the loss.

This weekend marked the final matches of the first half of the Canada West schedule for both teams, as they'll resume conference play in early January. The Cougars will also participate in the New Year's Classic, a non-conference tournament hosted by the University of Alberta from Jan. 2 to Jan. 4.