EDMONTON - The University of Albert Golden Bears combined for 49 kills, as they swept the Brandon Bobcats with their second straight 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-23) win Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
Ryley Barnes would lead the Bears attack with 18 kills, with Brett Walsh chipping in with 47 assists in the win. Fourth-year hitter Roy Ching would lead the visiting Bobcats with 17 kills in the loss.
After a 3-0 win the previous night, the Bears picked up right where they left off on Saturday night, with a pair of team blocks giving them an early 4-2 lead. After the Bears won a fantastic rally putting them up 9-5, a pair of kills from fourth-year Bobcat hitter Roy Ching gave Brandon some momentum at 9-7.
Compiling a 56% team hitting efficiency in the opening set got the Bears back on track, as CIS kill per set leader Ryan Nickifor ripped in two of his opening set kills late, to cement Alberta's 25-17 first set win. The Bobcats, for comparison, found paydirt on just nine of 22 attacks, with Ching, Bruce Akubukaka and Seth Friesen getting two kills each.
Attacking errors once again plagued Brandon to start the second set, with the Bears jumping out to an early 9-5 lead. Fourth-year middle Taylor Arnett finished off a superb 20 shot rally, putting the Bears up five, and forcing Bobcat coach Grant Walsh to call a timeout. Ching did his part following the timeout to keep Brandon in the set, ripping in one of his seven second set kills, cutting the Alberta lead to six. A much more efficient Bobcat attack made the set much closer than the first, however, Ryley Barnes started to heat up, as a late block, and one of his six second set kills solidified the Bears 25-16 set win.
Brandon wouldn't go away quietly, as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start the third set. Ching continued to be the best player on the Bobcats, as his tenth kill of the night kept the 'Cats up 7-4. However, the experienced Bears squad slowly started to chip away at the slim Brandon lead, with a Brett Walsh block tying the set up at nines. An error from Friesen put Bears up 11-9, followed by a Barnes kill giving them a two point lead.
Alex McMullin would fire in just his fourth kill of the night to give the Bears the slight 19-17 lead in a much closer, and much more entertaining third set. After the set was evened up at 21's, the Bears would win four of the final six point to the the final set 25-23.
The win keeps the Bears perfect heading into the Christmas break with an impressive 12-0 record. The loss for Brandon, meanwhile, drops their record to 4-8 on the season.
The Alberta Golden Bears will return to action in the final week of December, with an exhibition series against the visiting Long Beach State 49'ers.
