CALGARY – Kory White collected a game-high 17 points, on the strength of 13 kills to lead the third-seeded Alberta Pandas to a 3-0 victory over No. 5 McGill in the bronze medal match at the U SPORTS women's volleyball championship from the Jack Simpson Gym, Sunday.  After dropping the opening set 25-8, McGill battled back to challenge the Bears but fell 25-22 and 25-17 nonetheless.
 
The Pandas came out flying to open the match, opening the first set on a 10-1 run which set the tone en route to their straight-set victory. Alberta never allowed the Martlets to get comfortable offensively as McGill hit at an uncharacteristically low 6.8 per cent success rate for the match and had 20 total attack errors compared to Alberta's 11.  

"We tried hard and had lots of fight but we've only played seven matches since November and had to face the top two teams in the country back-to-back," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, who concluded her 30th season with a 15-7 record overall, compared to Alberta, which has posted a 30-7 record.

"Alberta's a strong team and it took us a while to adapt to a very different style. The more we play teams of that calibre, the better we will become. They are much taller and we had to deal with higher blocks and stronger hits. We often hit the ball but it didn't get past their front row. And the transitions were faster so we were moving too much and had to settle down."
 
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Justine Kolody orchestrated the Pandas offensive onslaught with a game-high 37 assists, while Erin Corbett also ended the match with double-digit kills, powering down 11 of her own.

For McGill, Claire Poire of Blainville, Que., was named as the team's Mikasa performer of the game. The kinesiology junior led the team with 11 points on the strength of 11 kills.  She also chipped in with seven digs and one assist.

Charlene Robitaille of St. Jean, Que., contributed 6.5 points, while Melanie Dormann of Ottawa and Victoria Iannotti added six points apiece.

Iannotti, a software engineering junior from St. Laurent, Que., was later named to the All-Tournament team. Over three matches, the 5-foot-9 power-hitter racked up 33 kills in 10 sets, with eight assisted blocks, one service ace, 11 digs and two assists.
 
Alberta's dominating 25-8 first set win was thanks in large part to their defence, as they forced the Martlets in to 10 of their 20 attack errors in the opening set. The Panda's service game was also on point in set number one, as five of their eight service aces came in the opening set. McGill would give Alberta a test in set number two, but in the end the Pandas were able to comfortably walk away with the win in three sets.
 
After losing to Mount Royal in the semi finals, the Pandas bounced back nicely and will leave Calgary with a bronze medal hanging around their necks while the 2022 RSEQ champion Martlets will have to settle for a fourth-place finish. 

"I was pleased with the progress of our team over a shortened season with a condensed schedule, I couldn't ask any more of my team and am very proud of what we accomplished," added Beliveau.

"We had very difficult conditions to overcome with restrictions imposed by the pandemic. Like getting up at 5 a.m. to conduct clinics in small groups, no access to weight-training and many other COVID protocols, hurdles that we had never faced before. We adapted to overcome those hardships, finished in a tie for first place and won both rounds of our league playoffs to achieve our first-ever conference championship. And we won our opening game at Nationals against a higher-seeded team. It has been a rewarding season."

The Martlets are expected to lose just two seniors to graduation, setter Andreanne Tremblay, who hails from Longueuil, Que., and Montrealer Salome Deslauriers-Brouillard. Tremblay is a second-year medical student who had previously graduated in 2020 with a degree in physical therapy. Deslauriers-Brouillard, who earned a science degree last year, is completing a master's in occupational therapy.

 
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Mikasa Top Performers Presented by Team Nike
McGill Martlets: #15 Clara Poire
Alberta Pandas: #19 Meghan John

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS
Championship MVP: Avery Heppell, Trinity Western
Championship All-Star Team

• Victoria Iannotti, McGill
• Kory White, Alberta
• Haley Roe, Mount Royal
• Quinn Pelland, Mount Royal
• Savannah Purdy, Mount Royal
• Ansah Odoom, Trinity Western

R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Kenzie Vaandering, Calgary