This weekend, the University of Manitoba volleyball teams were in action against the Regina Cougars. The men swept the weekend, not dropping a single set in the process.

The men are now 3-1 on the year and sit third in the Canada West behind local rivals Winnipeg Wesmen. The women sit in a

 

Men dominate

The Bisons were looking for a better showing this weekend, as they were perhaps not playing their best during last weekend’s split with Mount Royal. On Friday, the Bisons came out 3-0 winners in a dominant display. Evan Jackson had 10 kills, which was good enough to lead the Bisons, while Devren Dear and Adam DeJonckheere both had nine.

It was not even close in this contest, as the Cougars’ best set was the third, only losing by six points. Manitoba’s serving, which was relatively good all weekend, had six aces. Luke Herr, Jackson, and Dear all had two apiece.

As a team, the Bisons had a good hitting percentage, going .317 on the night while the Cougars only managed an abysmal .013.

Saturday was more of the same for the Bisons, and they continued to roll. A shaky first set for the Bisons saw a lot of back-and-forth play, and the Cougars managed to make a bit of a comeback in the end. The Bisons still managed to hold on for a 25-21 first set win.

From there, the Bisons found their groove and the Cougars were never really allowed into the game. Manitoba’s blocking and attack was too much for the Cougars to handle in this match, something head coach Garth Pischke noted after the game.

“I liked our blocking [this weekend], as well as our serving,” he said. “We played consistent, which we need at our level, and we had some real good solid blocks out there.”

Many times, the Bisons had three guys up to make a block and were successful, with the team registering 16 blocked attacks.

Overall it was a successful weekend for the sixth-ranked Bisons, and Pischke liked their performances.

“I thought we played really well, we played real consistent,” he said. “We didn’t have too many lulls where we gave up three, four points in a row. That’s why we managed to come out on top.”

 

Women even their record

The women grabbed their first win of the young 2016-17 season against the Cougars on Friday in three straight sets. The Bisons won an extended second set 26-24, but other than that were dominate.

Tori Studler had 16 kills, which was the best out of anyone on the court, including some set-ending kills.

The Cougars finished dead last in the Canada West last season, and are still a developing team, but the Bisons were second last last season and looked a different team out on the court on Friday.

On Saturday, the Bisons were hoping to get their record to .500 with a win and they did just that. A dominant first set saw the herd jump out to as much as a seven point lead, eventually taking the set 25-17. In a lengthy second set, the Bisons gave up a few points and were scrambling a few times on defense, losing 25-20.

Manitoba bounced back in the third set and took it 25-20. An intense fourth set had everyone at Investors Group Athletic Centre on the edge of his or her seat. With the game on the line, the Cougars were throwing everything at the Bisons, but they managed to hold on for a 30-28 set victory, which gave them the win. Josie and Kearley Abbott had a great match, registering 14 and 13 kills respectively.

 

The Bison volleyball teams head out to Kelowna to play two games against the UBC Okanagan Heat on Nov. 11-12.