The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s and women’s volleyball teams both ventured to Edmonton this past weekend to take on the University of Alberta. Neither squad was able to pick up a win, as the men’s undefeated run was snapped, while the women’s losing streak was extended to four games.

Tough losses for the men

With two of the top three teams in the nation facing off, the weekend matchup should have been quite competitive. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, as Alberta lost just one set all weekend.

The Bears bested the Bisons in three straight sets (25-16, 25-21, 25-19) in the opener on Friday night. Alberta dominated the herd in every statistical category, but individually, Manitoba’s Devren Dear smacked home 17 kills, the most of any player on the court. Dear is now averaging 3.87 kills a set on the year.

The home side made 17 errors on the night, while the herd only made 15, despite losing every set.

The Golden Bears completed the sweep on Saturday, winning 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 23-25, 25-19).

In the rematch, the herd didn’t register a single ace, while Alberta managed six. Dear once again led the Bisons with 17 kills, while Alex Strachan had a team-leading six digs on the night.

Manitoba is now third in the Canada West after the sweep, and will hope to rebound next weekend on the road in Regina. The Cougars are currently sitting at a 1-9 record.

Women remain winless away from home

The women headed into the weekend riding a two-game losing streak, and despite their best efforts had that streak extended to four, as they were in tight against the second-place Alberta Pandas.

On Friday, Manitoba lost 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-20). The Pandas outscored the Bisons by just 13 points, but were still able to hold on.

Cassidy Pearson had a team-best nine kills on the night, while second-year libero Cassie Bujan racked up 12 digs.

The women had a quick turnaround and were looking to rebound on Saturday. They looked great to start off, grabbing the first set, but fell in the next three (25-23, 18-25, 19-25, 19-25).

The Bujan sisters stole the show for the herd on Saturday, with Cassie once again leading the team in digs, with 15. Her sister Haillie was right behind her with 13 digs of her own. Haillie also led the team in kills with 14.

With the two losses, Manitoba is now second-last in the Canada West with a 1-9 record, and will travel to Regina next weekend, to take on the winless Cougars.