BURNABY, B.C. – The Simon Fraser volleyball team (12-13, 9-7 GNAC) gave the crowd at West Gym a show on Senior Night, as the Red Leafs toppled the Western Oregon Wolves (9-15, 5-11) in a five-set showdown on Saturday evening. The win is the Red Leafs' fifth in their last six games, as SFU is closing the GNAC calendar on a torrid run.
 
Final set scores were 22-25, 25-11, 25-14, 20-25, 15-10.
 
"Western Oregon is a good team and we went five the last time against them too," said SFU head coach Gina Schmidt. "Just glad to get the win this time. There are always a lot of emotions on Senior Night – that played out with several momentum shifts in the game, but our players kept focus and did what they needed to do, especially in that fifth set."
 
That final frame was an impressive stretch from the Red Leafs. Down 3-2 after the Wolves got an ace and kill on back-to-back points, the Red Leafs reeled off an 8-1 run to take firm control. That burst saw a pair of kills and blocks from middle Jocelyn Sherman, while SFU's defence forced several attacking errors in surging to an 11-4 lead.
 
The Wolves never managed to close the gap to less than four, and fittingly, the final point came from the Red Leafs' lone graduating player, Miriam Jauhiainen. The junior middle, who will graduate with remaining eligibility due to the pandemic, combined with outside hitter Sophie Lachapelle to block a WOU attack and seal the win for the home side.
 
"It was awesome to see her finish the game, pun intended, with a block," said Schmidt of Jauhiainen, who hails from Tampere, Finland. "She was such a steady presence for all of her years here, and has grown so much as a player. The people in our program know – you could tell by the reaction at the end of the game what her teammates think about her."
 

In a match that saw a balanced SFU offence – Sherman led the way with 15 kills, with outside hitter Hanna Kolof adding 12 and both Dexter and Lachapelle knocking down nine apiece – go up against an impressive Wolves attack paced by Bailee Hartsook's game-high 19 kills, it was the Red Leafs' discipline that proved the difference.
 
SFU forced the Wolves into making 29 attacking errors, while committing just 17 of their own. Even more decisive, the Red Leafs dominated from the service line, collectively dropping 15 aces to the Wolves' nine. The team blocks were 15-7 in favour of Canada's NCAA team.
 
Jauhiainen, who finished her last home game with two kills and a game-high seven block assists, was clearly emotional after the contest.
 
"It's wild, and it's bittersweet in that it's my last home game, but we got the win so I'm very proud of our team," said the Finn. "I don't think it's hit me yet that this was my last home game, but it was great. My parents weren't here so that was sad, but I was surrounded by my team and a lot of my friends came to watch, and it really means a lot to me."
 
SFU will aim to keep up this impressive form as they round into the GNAC regular season's final week. The Red Leafs will close it out with a pair of road contests, first travelling to Seattle to take on the Seattle Pacific Falcons at 7 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, before clashing with the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets at 12 noon PT on Saturday, November 12.

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