Douglas College transfer Murr bringing strong play to middle position at MacEwan
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
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25 | 25 | 23 | 23 | 15 | 3 |
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22 | 14 | 25 | 25 | 8 | 2 |
Team Stats
Saskatchewan
MacEwan University
| Game Statistics | Saskatchewan | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .231 | .160 |
| Blocks | 10.0 | 9.0 |
| Digs | 77 | 59 |
| Aces | 12 | 6 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With eight members of Chris Wandler's 2025 recruiting class coming right out of high school, it has been huge for the Griffins women's volleyball team to also have a handful of additions via transfer.
Chief among those has been middle blocker Alana Murr, who has played in all 31 sets the Griffins have been in so far this season after transferring into the program from Douglas College.
"Super helpful with her and Anna (von Krosigk) coming in and filling a gap that we had between our fifth years and our younger athletes," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler. "There's a gap there that they really filled in with their veteran experience. They've had some college-level experience, so it was a matter of getting up to the U SPORTS speed and physicality of things. They've done a really good job of catching up to that."
Murr has 35 kills and 21 blocks so far as she fulfills the old role that 2024 graduate Sarah McGee held as the step-around attacking middle blocker. That pairs really nicely with second-year Anika Buys, who is more of the blocking specialist on the court.
"She definitely is quite a good blocker," agreed Murr of her middle partner who leads the Griffins with 32 blocks. "I think I've been used more offensively this year, for sure. Anika's great because she already has a year of U SPORTS experience, so she's pretty good at helping me figuring out good spots to score and what I have open. We'll work with each other in timeouts. She's been great."
Wandler has been impressed by Murr's vertical, especially off one leg, which makes her a threat to score on the step play.
"She contributes in many different ways," he said. "Volleyball's the one part. But she's also a great human being – a fantastic personality to have out there. She's very light-hearted, really enjoys the group and the group enjoys her.
"On the volleyball side of things, she's super dynamic, get off of one foot and hits a step really well. She has really good hops and a fast arm, so we're really excited about the progress she's made."
SET 2 win!
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) October 18, 2025
Alana Murr finishes off a quick-hitter in the middle off a great set from Payton Shimoda as the @MacEwanGriffins win big in the second set to go up 2-0 over @UCDinos!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/lJ6sIcIxj7
Murr will lead the Griffins into weekend action vs. Saskatchewan (12 p.m. on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday, both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
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Both her and von Krosigk transferred in from Douglas College, where they were all-stars in PAC West. Both made that conference's all-rookie team in 2023-24 with Murr leading PAC West in blocks and being named the Royals' most improved player. Von Krosigk was Team MVP and also a first team all-star.
"That season was great," Murr explained. "That was probably one of the years where I learned a ton. If you look back at my first game to the last game of the season, I improved a lot and got a lot of opportunity to play. My coach was working with me a lot, too. I think it was more technique that we were working on, but I definitely got used to more of a faster game. It was a good year."
Initially, von Krosigk was recruited first to MacEwan, but Murr later felt it was a great fit for her two. The best friends transferred in together.
"It's so funny how that worked out," said Murr. "She put me in contact with Chris when she was getting recruited. She also committed about six months before me. We weren't actually planning it at first, but it kind of just worked out that way where we both thought it was the best fit for us of the schools we were talking to. It's been great."
W��| SIGNED
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) June 3, 2025
After finishing second in @pacwestbc in blocks/set, #YYJ Oak Bay middle blocker, 6-foot-3 Alana Murr, is transferring from @RoyalsAthletics to join @GriffinsWVB in 2025-26.
Welcome to @MacEwanU!#GriffNation
STORY➡️https://t.co/Zkz62aVVQT pic.twitter.com/vrawODZ8FG
Both will be key as the Griffins host a Saskatchewan team that's much improved over past seasons and is a real contender, third in Canada West at 7-3.
"They're balanced," said Wandler. "They have nine transfers on their team, and a lot of U SPORTS transfers. They've really benefitted from that. Strong outside pin hitters, really dynamic middle blockers and a setter that's Canada West level.
"They're going to be a tough contender. We're going to have to play really well, extremely balanced and disciplined. It will be a good test for us."
The Griffins (3-5) are coming off a weekend sweep over Mount Royal Nov. 14-15 where they began to string together stretches of the strong play they're capable of.
"That game just felt like we were trusting each other and our passing was really great, which set us up really well," said Murr of their 3-2 win over the Cougars on the Saturday. "I always think we're a pretty hard team to stop when we're in system. So, I think because we've been able to improve our passing, we're unlocking a few different ways to score offensively and are just getting stronger there. Hopefully that'll help us this weekend."
