EDMONTON - Laila Johnston stuffed the Bisons on back-to-back points late in the fifth, before ending the thriller with her 15th kill on match point, leading the Alberta Pandas to a 3-2 win over the Manitoba Bisons. 

Sophomore Abby Guezen added a match-high 20 kills for the Pandas, who picked up a must-needed first win of the season on Saturday. It marked the second 20-plus kill performance of Guezen's career, trailing only her 33-kill masterpiece against the same Bisons in last year's U SPORTS Semifinal win at McMaster. 

Reigning U SPORTS Player of the Year Raya Surinx led the Bisons with 18 kills, but had just one in the deciding fifth set. Guezen and Johnston, by comparison, had seven combined. The loss drops the Bisons to 2-4 in conference play. 

Guezen was terrific in the first set, powering down seven kills on just 11 swings, not committing a single error. The Pandas added six total blocks in the first, which saw them take charge after a timeout trailing 18-16. A long rally at 21-21 won by the Pandas sparked their first set win.
 
Trailing 7-2 early in the second set, the Bisons stormed back to level the match with an eventual 25-18 set win. The Bisons would go on a 23-11 run to win the second, thanks to for kills each from Surinx and Light Uchechukwu.
 
Manitoba also added four blocks in the second, causing grief for a Pandas offence that finished with just eight kills and five errors on 28 attacks in the second.
 
An evenly played third set turned quickly in Manitoba's favour, as they pulled ahead at 17-13. Surnix led the Bisons with five kills in the third, with Andi Almonte adding three. The Pandas again struggled to stay in rhythm on offence, scoring 11 kills on 36 attempts, but adding six attack errors.
 
The back-and-forth match continued in the fourth, with the Pandas gutting out a 26-24 win. Guezen led Alberta with five kills, who capitalized on their third set point off an attack error from Uchechukwu.
 
The fifth set was a microcosm of the match, which saw seven ties and two lead changes. Trailing 13-11, Johnston's blocks switched momentum in the Pandas favour, which was punctated with her kill on match point. 

Next up for the 1-3 Pandas is a road series against the MacEwan Griffins.