Three Stars: Croft, Hopkins, Janda earn honours
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Men's volleyball student-athlete Mitchell Croft is the MacEwan Athletics' first star of the week after a huge performance with 20 kills and 20.5 points in leading the Griffins to their first win of the season, 3-2 over Mount Royal on Saturday.
Women's hockey blueliner Shaelyn Hopkins and men's basketball forward Job Janda were named the second and third stars, respectively.
It's Croft's fifth appearance of the season on the Three Stars list, following first star honours on Nov. 12, second star honours on Oct. 9, Dec. 3 and Jan. 14.
Janda makes the list for the third time in 2024-25, having previously been named third star on Nov. 5 and first star Dec. 3 – when he was also named Canada West men's basketball player of the week.
Hopkins is being honoured for the first time in 2024-25.
Mitch Croft had 20 kills last Saturday, leading the Griffins to their first win of the season - a 3-2 triumph over Mount Royal (James Maclennan photo).
1st STAR: Mitchell Croft, OH, men's volleyball
Melbourne, AUS, first-year, Open Studies
Holding court from the service line in the crucial fifth set, the 6-foot-9 Aussie kept putting the Mount Royal Cougars out of system with his spin serve as MacEwan raced closer to their first win of the season on Saturday in Calgary.
Croft then plastered the floor with the kill that pushed them to a 14-9 lead. The Griffins would close it out at 15-10 and celebrate their first win of 2024-25.
The first-year outside hitter was terrific all over the court, and his stats stand bear that out. He finished with a match-high 20 kills on a .310 percentage, adding 14 digs, a block and accounting for 20.5 points.
While it's shy of the program rookie record of 23 kills and 27.0 points in a Canada West match, set by Ryan Zachary in 2017, it's among the best numbers ever put up by a Griffins rookie.
Croft had six kills and 7.0 points in Friday's 3-0 loss to MRU.
For the season, he is third in Canada West in kills/set (3.75) and is seventh in points/set (4.1).
The Griffins travel to Manitoba this weekend for a pair of games against the Bisons – Friday, 6:45 p.m. MT and Saturday, 4:45 p.m. MT, both Canada West TV.
Shaelyn Hopkins had a great game against Saskatchewan on Saturday, garnering an assist in regulation before scoring the shootout winner (James Maclennan photo).
2nd STAR: Shaelyn Hopkins, D, women's hockey
Edmonton, AB, third-year, Science
Saturday's game is one Hopkins will never forget as she drew an assist, scored the shootout winner and celebrated a sweet victory with teammates.
The third-year defenceman's shot in the first period was tipped in by Jennifer Andrash to give the Griffins a 1-0 lead over the Saskatchewan Huskies.
With the scored still tied 2-2 after overtime, the teams headed to a shootout where nine shooters combined from both teams were either stopped or missed. Hopkins weaved in and shot low back against the grain of her deke to beat Saskatchewan's Colby Wilson for the winner.
She doesn't get credit in the stats for the game-winning goal, but her assist pushes her offensive output up to two assists in 24 games this season, to go along with her solid defensive work.
The Griffins have a home-and-home series against Calgary this weekend – Friday on the road (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., Downtown Community Arena, both Canada West TV).
Job Janda lines up a free throw against Saskatchewan last Friday. He went 9-for-12 from the charity stripe in the weekend series (Gerard Murray photo).
3rd STAR: Job Janda, W, men's basketball
Calgary, AB, fourth-year, Commerce
Consistency was Janda's middle name on the weekend as he finished with 17 points on Friday and 19 on Saturday – both efforts leading and co-leading the Griffins' offence, respectively, against Saskatchewan.
In Friday's 69-64 defeat, Janda led the Griffins with 34 minutes on the court, adding seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
In Saturday's 85-79 loss, the third-year wing finished with a double double, adding 11 rebounds to his 19-point effort. He also had four steals and an assist.
For the season, Janda is leading the Griffins in scoring, by averaging 14.6 points/game (15th in Canada West) and is second in rebounding (6.6 – 11th in CW).
The Griffins will host Manitoba on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
