EDMONTON - Raya Surinx and the Bisons spoiled the Pandas home opener with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-18) victory Friday evening at the Saville Centre.
Surinx had a game-high 15 kills and an impressive four aces and was joined by a stellar performance from Andi Almonte who added seven of her own and currently leads the conference in total kills. The Bisons, ranked #1 in the Canada West coaches preseason poll, shake off some early rust to move to 2-3 on the year.
The Pandas hit .108 on the day as they struggled to string together successful attacks and were consistently playing from behind as Manitoba's high-octane offence was largely free of mistakes. Laila Johnston had a great day for Alberta, leading the team in kills with 10, while Allie Moore impressed at the line recording a total of 5.5 blocks. They are still looking for their first win on the year as they drop to 0-3.
Manitoba's vaunted attack was fully engaged early in the first set, with Surinx leading the charge early with three kills by the midway point, where Manitoba held a slight 16-14 advantage. Abby Guezen and the Pandas would storm back with a 7-5 run to knot the game at 21 heading down the exciting stretch, but Surinx would serve up an inch-perfect ace to lead the Bisons to a 25-21 set win. She finished with a set-high six kills, while Allie Moore impressed for the home side with three kills of her own, and added a block.
The Bisons continued to build momentum in the second set with an utterly dominant 25-16 win where they held Alberta to more attack errors than kills and hit .283 themselves. Maitoba's Surinx and Chelsea Siebenga paced the set with four kills apiece, while Johnston was the only real bright spot for the home side finishing with three kills.
A raucous Saville Centre home-opening crowd brought some energy for the third set, and the early returns were good with the Pandas recording an early 7-2 run. However, the Bisons would whittle away at the advantage and land the win smoothly with a 25-18 victory to wrap up the sweep.
The teams return to action tomorrow at the Saville Centre for the early season series finale.
