Gallacher boosts Bobcats to steal set in loss

Grace Gallacher’s game on Saturday should serve as a reminder to not only her teammates but also anyone with a seemingly smaller role on a team.

The lesson: Every job matters.

Gallacher stepped in to serve late in the third set and did a whole lot more, recording five digs and three assists as the Brandon University Bobcats avoided a sweep. While the Mount Royal Cougars (2-2) won their Canada West women’s volleyball match 3-1 (27-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-21), it was big for BU (0-4) to know it can close.

“There’s so much to build off of as a team. I think we’re so close and the mental side is getting there,” Gallacher said. “We’re getting stronger every day, practices we’re pushing ourselves to the max. The team chemistry on and off the court this year is unreal.

“It’s the best we’ve had in my three years being here and we know when we step on that court that we play for each other.”

The Bobcats held their own early, leading 8-6 before a back-breaking run. They hit into two blocks, hit it out twice, then added one more miss of each variety on an eight-point Cougars run.

Brandon got four of those points back in short order as Steph Miller and Georgia Johnson finally found the court, and Miller added an ace to make it 14-12.

BU gave up another run but hung around and took advantage of a handful of MRU errors to tie it 20-20.

Megan Pickford added an ace to lead 22-21, and BU earned two set points shortly after but was unable to close it out before a few costly errors led to Mount Royal’s second extra-points win of the weekend.

Those close ones were a point of emphasis for BU heading into the match.

“Once it gets to 20, we get nervous and feel the pressure that we have something to prove because we all know we’re so capable of getting a win,” Gallacher said.

“We talked about the mental side of the game. We have to play fearless and just be able to push.”

Brandon hung around well in the second set as Carly Thomson got all her hitters going. It was tied 14-14 when Cougar Grace Coulter blasted two aces on a 6-0 run to race ahead.

Mount Royal kept that six-point edge to 23-17 before Brandon rattled off a quick three, but couldn’t contain an ever-aggressive Cougar offence in crunch time.

The visitors posted 15 kills and three errors to Brandon’s 11 and two in the set, pulling ahead 2-0.

It looked like Brandon was in for another early night, down 12-7 in the third. It came close, but couldn’t quite tie it up before giving up runs.

But BU persisted on the back of Gallacher’s scrappy defence. Down 19-18, she subbed in and helped BU to a four-point run shortly afterward to lead 22-20.

The Bobcats had three set points and gave away two, but finally caught a break late as Coulter erred wide to extend the match to a fourth set.

It’s not easy to jump in during a pressure-packed moment, but Gallacher feels more ready than ever to handle it.

“I know if there’s a little bit of doubt, that’s when the skill goes down,” Gallacher said.

“(Coach) Kailan (Robinson), at the end of pre-season, just said how well my defence has gotten and just to have that confidence. I know last year that was … not my top (strength). Just to have that confidence and know I’m working and I’m getting better.”

Brandon followed up the set win with one of its cleanest sets of the day, leading most of the way to 21-20. But MRU took the lead back before Aurora Bentrim served back-to-back aces to bring up match point, and Cassidy Hauta’s attack sailed long to end it.

Johnson finished tied with Sydney Scatcherd for a match-high 14 kills while Pickford added seven kills without an error on 14 attempts.

MRU had 50 kills and 19 errors while Brandon posted 48 and 23.

The Bobcats visit the Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend.

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