Mariners Win Opener

The PACWEST champion VIU Mariners opened the CCAA national championship on Wednesday with an impressive four-set victory over the Manitoba champion Assiniboine College.

In the first set the Mariners set the tone with a 25-21 victory to take control of the match.  That momentum however was short lived as the Cougars came right back in the second set with a 25-21 victory of their own to tie the match.

That set loss must have refocused the Mariners because in the third they came out swinging and dominated the set winning 25-9 keep their opponents on their heels.  They carried that momentum in the fourth set and finished off the Cougars 25-22 to earn a berth in the semifinals.

Offensively the Mariners used the dynamic duo of Grace Brisebois and Regan Ingram to lead the way.  Brisebois knocked down a match high 15 kills and Ingram added 13.  They also had secondary scoring from Lauren Hoard who collected eight kills and Sara Hughes out of the middle had five.

Libero Jordy Exner was named Player of the Match with 18 digs.

With the win the Mariners advance to the semifinal on Thursday where they will meet the winner of the match between Augustana and Edouard-Montipetit at 4:00pm PST.