Kayla Kievits, Cougars Athletics

CALGARY – Cougars finish their last game of regular season on home court with a bang. Not only did the Cougars win both matches, but defeated their hometown rival the University of Calgary Dinos. After honouring the Cougars senior players they came out ready to play both offensively and defensively leading them to their sweep. The final scores were 25-15, 25-20 and 25-18

The Booster Juice Players of the Game from the Dinos, Parker Siroishka and from the Cougars, Tanner Greves. The Dinos top attacker was Siroishka with a total of nine kills. The team had a total of 1.5 team blocks and a serve percentage of 0.863. The Cougars lead attacker was Trent Mounter with a total of 12 kills. The team collectively had five blocks and a serve percentage of 0.865.

With a win under their belts the Cougars came back on to home court looking to repeat their results from the previous night. The set was close to start as both teams searched to find their rhythm. It was the Cougars who were the first to excel on offence. The Cougars took the first lead of the game 13-8 forcing the Dinos to call a timeout. The Cougars took the opportunity to ensure their defense was as strong as their offense had been. With both aspects of the game going well for the Cougars they kept their lead, 16-10 going into the technical timeout. Cougars Tyler Schmidt went on a serving run extending their lead even further 19-11. The Cougars continued to swing and quickly ended the set 25-12.

The Dinos refused to let the first set loss crush their spirits. Ready for revenge the Dinos came back swinging taking the first lead of the set 8-6. After a Cougars timeout they found themselves gaining back their offensive rhythm. The Cougars took the lead at the technical timeout 16-14. With a combination of strong offense and consistent serving the Cougars grew their lead 20-15 forcing a timeout from the Dinos. The Cougars continued their consistency and ended the set with a tip from Trent Mounter 25-20.

Looking to finish the match the Cougars yet again took the first lead of the game up 9-6. The Cougars utilized every position on offense, making the Dinos job on defense very difficult. The Cougars doubled the Dinos score by the technical timeout 16-8. The Cougars started to struggle on offense when they found themselves unable to keep the ball in the court, opening a window for the Dinos. After a quick timeout the Cougars regrouped and found themselves within reach of a victory. A missed serve from the Dinos ended the set and the match 25-18 in favour of the Cougars.

Cougars athlete Jonathan Phillips said, "If I could give one piece of advice to a player starting their university career it would be don't take the opportunity for granted and work hard everyday in practice because eventually, it will pay off."

After two wins on home court this weekend the Cougars take off for one final regular season game in Saskatchewan. They will return home to Kenyon Court on Feb. 22, 2019 for the Quarterfinal playoff game at 7 p.m.