(By University of Regina Sports Information)

REGINA, Sask. – The University of Alberta Pandas got off to a quick start and went on to a three-set victory over the host Regina Cougars on Friday night in a Canada West women's volleyball match at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Alberta held the Cougars to a negative hitting percentage in the first set, cruising to a lopsided 25-12 win to take the early lead in the match. The Cougars looked much better in the second, as the teams traded leads seven times before a pair of late kills by Meg Casault helped Alberta come away with a 25-23 victory to go up two sets to none.

The third set was controlled by Alberta from the start, as Mariah Walsh served the Pandas to an early 5-0 lead. The Pandas led 21-10 at one point and though a late run by the Cougars saw them win five straight points to get to within six, they'd get no closer as Alberta finished it off on a kill by Mary Pless that gave the visitors a 25-18 match-clinching win.

Kacey Otto led Alberta with 10 kills while hitting .364 for the match, while Walsh finished with 25 assists, six digs, and four aces. Casault and Karly Janssen both finished with six kills, while libero Jessie Niles led all players with 13 digs and was even credited with a kill in the first set after finding a soft spot in the Cougar defence on a pass over the net.

Playing in her 99th career Canada West match, Tori Glynn led the Cougars (1-18) in both kills and digs as she finished with eight and 10, respectively. Molly Wade-Cummings had four kills and five blocks, while Diana Lumbala came off the bench to record five kills.

Alberta improves to 15-4 with the victory as the Pandas continue to hold down third place in the Canada West standings. The two teams will close out the weekend series on Saturday night (5:00, canadawest.tv).