By: Marie-Line Petit
Box Score Burnaby, BC – The Simon Fraser University volleyball team won their first conference game in a thrilling fashion in their home opener against the Central Washington University Wildcats Thursday, taking the match three sets to two.
The Clan came back from a two sets to one deficit and pulled out the victory.
"Everybody played their role tonight," said Head Coach
Gina Schmidt. "We had a game plan and I thought we executed it well. I think the way we battled in the fourth set showed the character in our team. I was really happy to see us fight through that set. We played well and our players deserve this victory but now we have to focus on NNU on Saturday."
SFU came out strong as they won the first set 25-21.
The Wildcats answered back and took the next two sets by a score of 25-16 and 25-21.
The Clan kept their composure and battled through the fourth set. In a back and forth battle, the Clan were victorious, pulling out the set victory by a score of 30-28.
SFU setter Brooklyn Gould-Bradbury (Seattle, WA) got her attack line involved all through the night as she finished the game with 61 assists.
Kelsey Robinson (Surrey, BC) led the team with 21 kills,
Madeline Hait (Burnaby, BC) had 18 and
Amanda Renkema (Delta, BC) had 15.
"This is definitely a huge high," said Robinson. "I thought Maddy had a great game tonight. It's great to be able to have those kills spread out. It makes it a lot harder for the blockers on the other side. This is exciting but now we need to focus on our next match on Saturday."
The Clan's momentum carried them to the fifth and final set as they took the lead and never looked back, winning by a convincing score of 15-8.
Alanna Chan (Port Moody, BC) led the team with 25 digs and Robinson finished with 19 in the night.
With the win, the Clan's record improves to 6-3 in overall play and 1-2 in conference.
SFU will be back in action Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the West Gym against the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders.
