CALGARY- The Mount Royal Cougars defeated the UBC Okanagan Heat 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-14, 27-25) on Thursday night at Kenyon Court. Jordan Parkin and Tyler Schmidt led the way with 18 and 15 kills respectively for the Cougars.       

The Heat dominated the first set, at one point they lead 17-5 over the Cougars. The Cougars managed a six point run, but that just wasn't enough. The set ended when a Cougars' strike landed out of bounds. UBC Okanagan won the first set 25-18.

The second started off slow, as neither team seemed to want to get out in front. Tied 12-12 the Cougars began to pull away, taking small effective runs to get themselves back in the match. The Heat managed to stay close but the Cougars finally closed them out winning 25-22.

Early in the third set, the Cougars put together a strong 12-point run, to go up 14-4. Mount Royal just kept it coming and their dominance was beginning to overwhelm the Heat. Jordan Parkin finished off the third set with a spike right down main street giving the Cougars a 25-14 set win.

The fourth set remained relatively quiet until the score was knotted at 17-17. Exciting rallies going back and forth, showed the heart of both teams. At 23-23 Tyler Schmidt made a phenomenal dig on a point that the Cougars eventually won.  Mount Royal kept the momentum of that point and eventually finished off the Heat, winning the set 27-25.

Jim Bell led UBC Okanagan with 14 kills and 6 digs on the night. His teammate Lars Bornemann had 9 kills and 8 digs in the four set match.

With the win Mount Royal improves to 10-11 and sit just one win out of a playoff spot. UBC-O drops down to 6-12 and are officially eliminated from playoff contention.

The Cougars and Heat will return to action tomorrow night back at Kenyon Court for the second game of their series at 6:30 pm on Kenyon Court.