EDMONTON - The U SPORTS #1-ranked Alberta Pandas are back in the Canada West Gold Medal Game for the first time since 2022 as they were victorious in straight-sets over the Manitoba Bisons Friday evening at the Saville Centre.
 
The Pandas impressed in all facets of the game, hitting .333% on the day while holding Manitoba to a .153 mark themselves. They also showcased what is the best blocking frontline in the conference against a great Bisons offence, recording seven blocks on the day which almost doubled the visitors total.
 
Third-year Panda Laila Johnston led the way with one of the best performances of her young career, finishing with a game-high 13 kills and a crazy efficient .542 attacking percentage on a night where many players struggled to make it past some stout blockline play. CW Second-Team All-Star Abby Guezen and Mackenzie Pool flanked the winning effort, recording 13 and eight kills respectively.
 
"I'm honestly so proud of this team. Justine said in the huddle that she could set anyone at any time. All of us came out ready to play. I looked everyone in the eye between points, and you could just feel that connection," said Johnston. "I'm so excited for tomorrow. It's awesome to play at home. We have such great fans."

Manitoba, despite the scoreline, was incredibly competitive in this one but could not prevent a couple of huge scoring runs that sunk their gold-medal aspirations. Two-time reigning CW Player of the Year Raya Surinx was the kills leader for the Bisons with 12, but suffered an injury midgame that certainly impacted the momentum and flow of the Manitoba gameplan.

"Obviously that kind of hurt us a little bit in that second set," said Manitoba coach Ken Bentley after the game. "But you know, that's the way it goes…we still played hard, beginning to end, and, well, that's our team."
 
The first set certainly set the tone for a tight matchup, as it featured 12 tie scores to go with seven lead changes as the squads jockeyed for momentum. Manitoba was unable to get anything through the Alberta blockline, finishing the frame with as many (eight) kills as attacking errors. Despite this, the Pandas held a slight 18-17 lead late in the set before rattling off a dominant 7-2 run to take a 1-0 lead. Laila Johnston was key for Alberta, finishing with a team-high four kills, while the Bisons were paced by Surinx who had five, but uncharacteristically struggled recording four errors on a set-high 11 attacks.
 
The Bisons righted ship early in the second, taking an immediate lead and holding it for the majority of the set. However, with a 16-13 lead Surinx landed awkwardly and was unable to return until the end of the set, sapping the Bisons momentum amidst a 6-1 Pandas run that got them back in it. Mackenzie Pool would hit two massive kills, one at 23 all and another at 24 all, and Abby Guezen would crush the final attack in extras as Alberta took a 2-0 lead with a 26-24 set win. Johnston and Pool would combine for 11 kills in the set as Alberta weathered a Manitoba attack that more than doubled their kill total in the second.
 
Having captured the momentum, and a raucous Saville Centre crowd, the Pandas turned an early set lead into an 8-1 mid-set run that cemented the straight-sets victory in what was a 25-14 set and match win. It was the second set of the game where Alberta was able to hold the visitors to an attacking percentage below .100 in what was one of the most complete defensive performances of the year for the home side.
 
Alberta will go for their 12th conference title tomorrow night at 7:00 PM MST against the UBC Thunderbirds, who won their semifinal earlier against the Saskatchewan Huskies. Those same Huskies, on a cinderella run, will face the Bisons at 5:00 PM MST in the CW Bronze-Medal Game.