The University of Regina's women's volleyball team took the first two sets from visiting Brandon on Friday night at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport but eventually fell in five after the Bobcats reeled off 25-17, 25-21, and 15-13 victories in the final three sets.

And the Bobcats had to overcome more than just a two-set deficit to win the match – midway through the fifth set, fourth-year setter Mary Thomson had to be carried off the court after suffering what appeared to be a serious lower-body injury on an innocent-looking play. Hope Schneider came in off the bench for Thomson, and though the Cougars reeled off three straight after that to go up 11-9, the Bobcats went on a 6-2 run to clinch their second Canada West victory of the year.

Thomson was on her way to a spectacular match before being hurt, finishing with 22 assists, a match-high 15 digs, and six kills. Brandon (2-3) had a team-leading 11 kills and four blocks from Jodie Baker, while Breanne Sytnyk had nine kills and matched Baker for the match high with four blocks. Fourth-year libero Donata Huebert had 13 digs and was even credited with a kill early in the match after her dig off a Kristine Ward attack found its way back over the net and onto the Cougar side for a Brandon point.

Ashlee Sandiford led the Cougars (0-7) with a career-high 13 kills, while Tori Glynn had 10 kills, 11 digs, and led all players with five service aces. Making her first career start, rookie setter Erika Burns finished with 29 assists and a team-leading 12 digs. Molly Wade-Cummings added seven kills while hitting .429 for the U of R.

The first set saw the Cougars break a late 22-22 tie with three straight points including a Burns kill, an ace by Dominika Janowczyk, and a Glynn kill to finish it off. The Cougars looked to be cruising to an easy win in the second after going up 21-13, but the Bobcats went on late 4-0 and 3-0 runs to get back to within three. The U of R was able to finish it off on its fourth attempt at set point after a Brandon service error, but that set the stage for the Brandon comeback.

The third set saw the Cougars recover from an early five-point deficit with a 7-2 run, but it was all Brandon after that. The Bobcats took 13 of the next 17 points to seize control of the match, and converted on their third set point to force a fourth. Brandon led 19-13 at one point in the fourth before the Cougars brought it back to 22-21, but three straight points by the Bobcats finished it off and sent the match the distance.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at the CKHS with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m.