EDMONTON – The No.1 ranked, and still undefeated University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team made quick work of their cross-town rivals, in their first ever Canada West match-up, as the defending national champion Golden Bears defeated the MacEwan University Griffins 3-0 (25-19, 25-15 and 25-21) on Friday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

With the win, Alberta improves to 9-0 on the season and remains on top of the conference standings. MacEwan, meanwhile, is still looking for its first conference victory in men's volleyball, as they drop to 0-9.

Friday night represented an historic moment for both programs, as it was the first ever conference match between the two Edmonton-based schools. The squads did meet in preseason play, with Alberta earning a similar 3-0 score during their annual Sofa Land Classic tournament.

The Golden Bears, a program that is defending its seventh national championship title this season, were simply too much for the injury-depleted Griffins, a program that is making its CIS debut this season. Alberta won convincingly in all three sets, including 25-15 in the penultimate set, and finished with an impressive .444 team hitting percentage.

In a match-up that featured 42 student-athletes from the Edmonton area, it was a kid from Calgary that led the way offensively as Golden Bears fourth-year right-side Kevin Proudfoot finished with a match high 14 kills. Damon Holmen, a fourth-year outside hitter from Taber, Alberta, led the Griffs with nine kills.

MacEwan, however, came into the match without kill leader, and offensive catalyst Marcus Ernewein, who is out with injury. The Spruce Grove native leads the Griffins with 105 kills this season, and his absence was noticeable against the Bears. The Griffins finished with just 26 kills on the night, and with 19 errors on 84 attacks for a .083 hitting percentage.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night at the Saville, with match time beginning at 6:30 p.m. MST.

Game Notes:
It was a home coming of sorts for a number of MacEwan volleyball coaches, as the Griffins' head coach is former Golden Bear player and assistant coach Brad Poplawski, while his assistants are former Bears players Mike DeRocco and Eirik Thomassen