The University of Manitoba women’s and men’s volleyball teams were in Kamloops, B.C. this past weekend, squaring off against the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack.
Going into this past weekend’s matches against the WolfPack, the women’s team had won four games in a row. The WolfPack, however, had won only one of its last four.
In the first set of the first match, the herd thundered over the WolfPack, easily taking the set 25-15.
Nevertheless, in the second, the Pack bit back, nabbing the set 25-23.
The nip in the heel only spurred the Bisons on, however, as the team went on to take the next two sets, winning the match 3-1.
The best Bison of the match was undoubtedly Brenna Bedosky. Playing excellently in all areas of the game, Bedosky finished the match with 13 kills on 19 attacks for a hitting percentage of .526, and also chipped in defensively with a few digs.
Not to be outdone, Katreena Bentley played brilliantly as well, dishing out 47 well-placed assists.
In the following day’s rematch, TRU persevered and got out to an early one-set lead, taking it by the finest of margins, 26-24.
As it had done the previous day, the women’s team bounced back after surrendering a set and won the next three in convincing fashion.
One cannot review a pair of Bisons women’s volleyball matches without mentioning stand-out player Raya Surinx. As usual, she was terrific, pounding home 20 kills to give her a CanWest-leading 160 on the season.
But it was really the weekend of Bedosky. For the second game in a row, Bedosky got 13 kills, upping her hitting percentage to .550 by the end of the second match.
With the sweep, the herd moved into fourth place in the CanWest standings, improving its record to 8-2 and extending its winning streak to six games.
The men’s team also played highly competitive volleyball against TRU this past weekend. Each match the team played went to a fifth and deciding set, and much to the delight of Bisons supporters, the herd prevailed in each fifth set.
In the first game, Spencer Grahame led the charge, contributing 15 kills, two service aces and four digs.
Defensively, Eric Ogaranko helped the herd pick up the hard-fought victory by getting 11 digs, which were bested only by Josh Jehle’s 18.
In the rematch on the following day, the WolfPack seemed as if it would take the match. However, thanks to some timely kills by Australian Ben Carleton, the herd managed to etch out a victory.
Not only did Carleton supply 16 clutch kills, he also got three block assists and seven digs.
Ultimately, the match came down to which setter could give his team the chance to score, and Bison setter Sammy Ludwig — who finished the match with 41 assists — simply outperformed TRU’s when it mattered most.
With the narrow but convincing weekend sweep, the herd improved its record to 6-4 and sits in seventh place in the CanWest standings.
Both the women’s and men’s teams will be in action this weekend at the Investors Group Athletic Centre Dec. 1 and 2, playing host to the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat.
