EDMONTON – Four sets that could have gone either way were featured in a great back-and-forth Canada West men's volleyball match on Friday night.

The difference?

Roy Ching, for one.

The big, hard-hitting New Zealander was a load for the Griffins to handle as he raced to a game-high 26 kills in a 3-1 win (26-24, 26-28, 25-23, 25-23) for the Brandon Bobcats on Friday night.

"We've come to expect that from Roy," said Brandon head coach Grant Wilson, whose team improved to 10-5 with the triumph. "He's capable of putting our team on his back and he certainly did that in this match."

The difference on the scoresheet?

Just four points separated the Griffins from the No. 9-ranked team in the country. A loss is a loss, but that's a positive, at least.

"We're going to have to find a way to win one of those and then hopefully the dam bursts," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski, whose squad has lost six of nine sets this semester by two points in falling to a 2-13 record.

"People are like, 'oh, you're 2-12'  but if you watch us play, I don't think our record's an indication of our level of play, especially these last two weekends, the way we've competed and given two pretty good teams a run."

The Bobcats, who are currently a playoff team in the top volleyball conference in Canada, certainly didn't take the Griffins lightly, but were given all they could handle anyway.

"We talked about it all this week that they're probably the best 2-12 team we've seen in the conference in a long time," said Wilson. "They're really good and they've got a lot of really strong athletes. We expected it to be a battle and we know it will be again tomorrow."

On Friday, at times Ching seemed like a one-man show for the Bobcats out there, although you can't discount the play of his setter Reece Dixon, who recorded 53 assists. Elliott Viles added 12 kills.

The Griffins were led by Kai Hesthammer's 17 kills, while Matthew Mohler had an astounding game-high 55 assists. Jordan Peters chipped in 13 kills, while Max Vriend had 10.

"Reece's only a second year and he's really improved a lot," said Poplawski, who coached the Edmontonian when he was younger. "He's playing well. Matty Mohler, I thought he put the ball in a hittable zone for us.

"This semester, our numbers have reflected that. We were only averaging 10-something kills per set (before Christmas). I think our numbers are now 12 or around there. It shows our offence is improving a little bit."

The first set was tied 24-24, but the Griffins lost it on an ace by Brandon's James Weir.
 
MacEwan found itself again tied at 24 in the second set, but things were different this time. The home side held the lead all the way through to 26s and then Hesthammer took over, blasting a kill past the double block from the left side before his off-speed smash tipped off the block and out to seal the set victory.
 
Brandon put away the fourth set when Seth Friesen blocked Lee Iverson at the net, stemming a big MacEwan comeback from 23-19 down.
 
"We were pretty fortunate, honestly," said Wilson. "It just seemed we were on the right side of some luck at times and got some bounces. We were able to find ways in the end of each set because it was definitely a struggle throughout."
 
Fittingly, though, the Bobcats put away the fourth set and the match when Ching found open floor on a kill from the left side.
 
"Roy Ching, he's one of the best left sides in our country," said Poplawski. "He's one of the best in our league. He's very good.
 
"They're well coached, they're very big, very physical. They're ranked ninth nationally. They're there for a reason. They're looking to make the playoffs and make a big push.
 
"I thought for the most part, we gave them a lot," he continued. "They were able to handle it, but I thought we showed some fight.
 
"But you could see a veteran team on their side that believes in itself made the plays when it mattered."

The Bobcats will look to sweep the series with the rematch set for Saturday.

Meanwhile, Friday was also a record-breaking night for Jeremy Davies of the Bobcats. Davies collected 17 digs in the victory to make him the school's new record holder for career digs. Davies now sits at 765 career digs, surpassing Scott Neufeld's previous mark of 759.