Cougars’ Corner: Cougars in Final Four
The Cougars womens’ volleyball team spike their way into the Canada West Final Four, Feb. 2013
Todd Colin Vaughan
Sports Editor
On Feb. 21, the Cougars women’s volleyball team made their first appearance in the Canada West Final Four. They ended up losing to both the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds and the University of Alberta Pandas, 0-3 sets respectively.
Photo: James Wilt
Even though the results were losses at the final four, the women’s efforts to make the fi- nals in their first year in Canada Interuniversity Sport (CIS) are extraordinary, and a good sign for the program going forward.
Sandra Lamb, coach of the Cougars, was very impressed with her squad.
“It was a huge achievement for us,” she said.
“We always strive to be the best program around, and, being such an unknown coming into this year, we didn’t know where we would fit in. We ended up really competing and set a really high standard for ourselves.”
Lamb only sees success going forward. She said they are re- turning a lot of players and they can only get better now that they know the scheduling and amount of travel involved.
“It’s just making some adjustments, working on our weaknesses and exposing our strengths,” she said.
Lamb credits her players’ leadership for the success this season, explaining that they “do leadership by committee.” She said Mackenzie Allen and Julie Pasieka were basically the captains this year, and Jenna Smith “came in as a second year player and was such a great team person.”
The Cougars also managed to maintain one of the best academic averages in the country. “Our team grade point average was 3.3 which is fairly unheard of,” Lamb said.
With all this year’s success, Lamb and her squad can’t wait to lace up their shoes next season.
“I get to return basically the whole team. Our goals will be higher and there will be different pressures with that,” Lamb said.
