Cougars make next round
Feb. 22, 2010 - Regina Leader-Post
By Craig Slater
Beth Clark and Meagan Smith have a unique way of savouring the moment.
After hitting the road for the previous four seasons, the University of Regina Cougars volleyball duo finally experienced a Canada West playoff series on their home court.
But they certainly didn't stick around very long to soak in the atmosphere at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health and Sport. They weren't interested in prolonging the home-court advantage.
That's because the Cougars swept the visiting Brandon Bobcats 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 27-25) Saturday night, winning the best-of-three quarterfinal series 2-0.
"I'm speechless, and I'm usually never speechless," said Smith, a senior, fighting a lump in her throat. "We have worked so hard for this, not only this year, but every year. It's an incredible feeling."
The Cougars advance to their first Canada West Final Four since the format was introduced for the 2002-03 season. Regina will meet the No. 1-ranked and undefeated UBC Thunderbirds in one semifinal on Friday at the University of Manitoba, and will take on either Manitoba or Trinity Western the following night.
First things first for Clark and Smith. They've never experienced a quarterfinal series victory in their CIS careers. The last four years they've bowed out of the post-season in the first round.
"It's a new feeling for all of us," Clark said moments after playing her final game at home. "We're all shaking and my adrenaline is still going strong. It's such a high, and it's such a breakthrough for this program."
The top three teams from the Final Four tournament will advance to the CIS championship, which begins March 5 in Edmonton. The Cougars will be looking to advance to the national tournament for the third time in the program's history and for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
"Yeah, winning (Saturday night) is important," Clark said after her 13-kill, five-block performance. "But we didn't care how we won or when we won, as long as we won."
The Cougars set a program record this season for wins with 13, with seven of those coming in their last 10 regular-season games. But no previous victory compares to the playoff-series clincher on home court.
"I've had enough of losing in the quarterfinals. I've been here long enough and I'm not going out this way again," Smith said. "We wanted to break through and get that monkey off our back. There was something about the this team this year that made us all think that way."
The Bobcats, who shared a 13-7 regular-season record as the Cougars, went toe-to-toe with the Cougars in the first set. Neither team led by more than two points until Regina went on a 12-4 run en route to an opening-set win.
The third set was closely contested, too.
The Cougars took an early 8-2 lead before Brandon rallied and responded with a 9-3 run and eventually assumed a 22-20 lead. But Cougars third-year hitter Meagan Onstad took matters into her own hands and scored five of the next seven points -- all on kills. Back-to-back points from Kaitlyn Hughes, a kill from Smith, a block by Clark, and the Cougars broke a 25-25 tie and clinched the win.
"We really showed some maturity and composure," Smith said after managing eight kills. "We created a positive atmosphere on the court and even if we did have some mistakes we battled through them and stayed focused on what we were here to do."
Onstad produced a game-high 19 kills, while Hughes had 11 kills and 10 digs. Cougars libero Rebecca Rink had a team-high 19 digs.