REGINA – The University of Regina's women's volleyball team hit a blistering .389 as a team as the Cougars took out Brandon in straight sets on Friday night in a Canada West match at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
The Cougars won the opening set 25-23, then followed that up with 25-17 and 25-15 wins to collect their ninth win of the conference schedule. Regina's Canada West record now sits at 9-8 as the Cougars pull above the .500 mark for the first time this season.
The U of R's three outside hitters were dominant in as Ashlee Sandiford, Diana Lumbala, and Jessica Lerminiaux combined for 35 kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the win. Sandiford led all players with 17 kills, while Lumbala chipped in with 11 kills while hitting at a .611 clip.
"I was happy with our offensive production, especially from our hitters that did an outstanding job of attacking the Brandon defenders who we know can be challenging," Cougars head coach Melanie Sanford said. "It was a great team win with contributions from everyone on the floor."
Satomi Togawa finished with 34 assists and 10 digs, while Regina libero Taylor Ungar led all players with 11 digs. The Cougars are now tied for fifth in the Canada West standings with Manitoba, as the Bisons also pulled off a home sweep on Friday to jump up to 9-8 on the year.
Currently second in Canada West in kills, Brandon fifth-year left side Nikala Majewski had eight in the first set alone and finished with 15 on the night for the Bobcats. Michelle Egger added 11 kills and led Brandon in digs (10), hitting percentage (.400), and aces (3) in the loss. The loss drops the Bobcats' record to 3-14.
The two teams will meet again at the CKHS on Saturday night. Match time is again set for 7:00.
NOTES: Ungar now has 1270 digs in her career and needs 48 to surpass Canada West all-time leader Jessie Niles ... Niles had 1317 over five seasons with the Alberta Pandas during a career which stretched from 2011-12 through 2015-16 ... the Cougars are now 4-0 against Brandon this year, including Friday's win along with three non-conference wins in September.