Crafty veteran play from Griffins seniors leads to 3-0 win over Bobcats
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
22 | 18 | 23 | 0 |
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|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Brandon
| Game Statistics | Brandon | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .172 | .330 |
| Blocks | 5.0 | 4.0 |
| Digs | 30 | 37 |
| Aces | 6 | 6 |
Jason Hills
For MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON — The previous weekend was disappointing for MacEwan Griffins outside hitters Arden Butler and Kara Frith — but the veterans came through big time on Friday against the Brandon Bobcats.
Frith and Butler led the Griffins with 13 kills each, while Butler chipped in with nine digs, and Frith added a service ace as MacEwan recorded a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-23) victory on Friday night at the David Atkinson Gym.
Payton Shimoda led the Griffins with 38 assists. Her third assist of the night was a milestone mark, moving her into the top-20 in Canada West history, and with three regular season games remaining sits at 2,685, now 19th all-time.
MacEwan is in a tight playoff race with three other teams, and with the victory jumped ahead of UBCO, Winnipeg and Regina as they chase one of the final two playoff spots in the Canada West conference.
"I was really proud of Arden and Kara after last weekend. Just their ability to reset and come out so strong and find ways to score and adapt and adjust is really impressive," said Shimoda.
"I thought (Butler) showed tenacity tonight that felt like the old Arden. One thing we had asked from her was more communication throughout the rally, and you could tell she really bought into that."
The Bobcats fell to 3-14 with the loss, and are 0-7 on the road this season, but despite what their record shows, they competed hard and pushed the Griffins to be at their best throughout the three sets.
Nerissa Dyer led Brandon with nine kills, while Carly Thompson recorded 26 assists. Cassidy Hauta chipped in with five kills, seven digs and three aces.
"They're a very scrappy team," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler.
"They compete hard every rally, every ball, so we definitely have to match that energy and work capacity. It was a good job on our part.
"The way Payton (Shimoda) ran the offence, she distributed the ball so well, and all our pins were even with the distribution."
W��| TOP 20
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) January 31, 2026
Congrats to @GriffinsWVB setter Payton Shimoda, who, with her third assist vs. the @BUBobcats on Friday night has moved into the top 20 in @CanadaWest history in career assists!
She's at 2,650 and climbing.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/hqOJMNmwDs
The Griffins came out strong in the opening set and were in full control leading 17-10 on the strength of a Shimoda ace, but Brandon didn't back down.
They went on a 3-0 run. Then after a nice kill from Alyshia Bryks, who chipped in with 11 kills as part of the strong balanced attack by the Griffins, the Bobcats went on a 4-0 to tie it at 19-19.
Kara Frith paints the back line to put the opening set away, 25-22 in favour of the @MacEwanGriffins. They lead the visiting @BUBobcats 1-0.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/pLUGYkzvDl
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) January 31, 2026
But back-to-back kills from Butler, and back-to-back kills from Alana Murr gave the Griffins a little breathing room to pull out the gritty set win.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the second set that saw the set tied 11 times, and the lead switched four different times, but after a Frith kill and block from Anika Buys, MacEwan finished the second set on a 7-1 run.
Arden Butler's smash scores the decisive point in Set 2 as the @MacEwanGriffins take a 2-0 lead on the @BUBobcats with a 25-18 win!
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) January 31, 2026
Butler is up to nine kills through two sets.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/1dMAlu59r0
Despite being tested by Brandon, the Griffins stayed poised, and there was never a feeling that they were going to lose control of the match, despite all three sets being close.
"We've been a team that hunkers down, and we may not win a point, but we don't give up, and there was no giving up tonight, and we've played that basically all season," said Wandler.
With their playoff lives on the line, the Griffins vets led by Shimoda, Frith, Butler and Bryks led the way.
"This was a different Brandon (team) than we've seen in previous years. They gave us a good fight. Our message this week was to pull confidence from the work we put in (practice) and come into the weekend with some swagger," said Shimoda.
"I felt confident in our group, and we had everyone step up and execute how we needed to."
The @BUBobcats pushed hard in the third set, but the match will end after Alana Murr's huge smash ends up in a free ball that goes long for a 25-23 Set 3 @MacEwanGriffins win and straight-sets victory!#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/Gouq3MEkVq
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) January 31, 2026
The Griffins are relishing the chance to be in a playoff push for one of the final playoff spots, and they're focused on finishing the season strong — no matter what the end result may be.
And, with the season winding down, they're playing meaningful games down the stretch, which makes it even more exciting.
"We all want it so bad, but all we can do is take it one game at a time, and see where things fall," said Shimoda.
"Obviously, our mindset and focus is to make the playoffs, and I know we all believe it, but we have to see what happens. Regardless, we want to finish our season strong."
MacEwan will wrap up their weekend series with Brandon on Saturday (3 p.m., David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
