Bisons fall flat and can’t complete the sweep
Men’s volleyball team splits weekend series with Wesmen
Sheri Lamb, STAFF
Photo by Kelly Morton.
Two of the top teams in men’s volleyball faced off during the weekend of Dec. 1, splitting a pair of matches. The Canadian Interunitversity Sport (CIS) fourth-ranked U of W Wesmen rebounded from a straight sets loss on Dec. 2 with a four set victory over the fifth-ranked Bisons on Dec. 3.
The cross-town rivals renewed acquaintances at the Duckworth Centre to end off the first half of the volleyball season. On Friday night the Bisons coasted to their fourth straight series sweep with an easy 3-0 (25-16, 25-22 and 25-19) win. It was a different story Saturday night when the herd couldn’t contain the Wesmen, going down 3-1 (21-25, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-17).
Bison coach Garth Pischke was disappointed in his team’s inconsistent play from one night to the next.
“I thought we’d turned the corner and we were going to start playing some consistent volleyball and that hasn’t been the case for us so far this year,” said Pischke. The Bisons go into the Christmas break with a .500 record at 5-5.
Wesman coach Larry McKay was happy his team was rewarded for their efforts in the second game of the series.
“Friday night the performance wasn’t very good, but the effort was gangbusters, the guys really tried hard and [Saturday] the effort was equal, but they relaxed and let the game flow a little more for them and they played much better,” said McKay of his 6-4 team.
Bison captain Jeff Zylstra had eight kills on Saturday, while Joshua Klassen led the herd with 14 kills. Ryan DeBruyn of the Wesmen had 16 kills for the home side.
The Bisons are off to train in Florida Dec. 28 to Jan. 5 before heading to Toronto for a tournament Jan. 6-8. Meanwhile, the Wesmen head to California to see how they match up with UCLA. The two teams hook up again in the New Year on Jan. 14 and 18.
