The U of W Wesmen men’s volleyball team delivered a dominating performance, sweeping the U of M Bisons in two consecutive matches on Thursday, Feb. 27 and Friday, Feb. 28, at the Duckworth Centre.
The Wesmen’s quarterfinal wins marked a significant triumph, with scores of 3-1 and 3-0, respectively.
The first match on Thursday began with a service error by Wesmen’s left side hitter Jaxon Rose, giving the Bisons their first point. However, the Wesmen quickly regained their footing, with Bisons right side hitter Karil Dadash Adeh committing a service error to tie the score 1-1.
The game continued with both teams trading points until the Wesmen scored three consecutive points, creating a gap between them and the Bisons. The Bisons called a timeout, hoping to re-strategize, but the Wesmen continued their momentum, scoring another three consecutive points to extend their lead to 24-18.
Left side Eric Ogaranko added to the Bisons’ points with a kill, but the Wesmen ultimately won the set 25-19, courtesy of a service error by middle Jordon Heppner.
The second set saw the Wesmen winning the first two points due to Dadash Adeh’s service error and left side hitter Spencer Grahame’s attack error. However, Heppner restored the Bisons’ hope with a kill, and both teams began trading points again. The Bisons eventually extended their lead, winning the set 25-20, with the two final points coming from Heppner’s aces.
The third set began with the Bisons winning the first point, but the Wesmen responded with three consecutive points. The Bisons closed the gap and took the lead 10-7, prompting the Wesmen to call a timeout. The Wesmen then won three consecutive points, forcing the Bisons to call a timeout as well.
Both teams continued trading points, but the Wesmen created a margin from 16-15 to 19-15, ultimately winning the set 25-22.
The final set began with the Wesmen winning the first two points, and both teams trading points until the Wesmen broke out, winning four straight points to extend their lead from 17-16 to 21-16. The Bisons were unable to close the gap, and the Wesmen won the set 25-21.
The Bisons finished the match with 45 kills, 124 total attempts and 24 errors, while the Wesmen had 46 kills, 117 total attempts and 17 errors.
The second match on Friday saw the Wesmen dominating the Bisons, winning all three sets. The first set began with the Wesmen winning the first point, and Grahame quickly tied the score. Both teams traded points until the Wesmen created a huge margin from 15-14 to 18-15, and from 18-16 to 21-16. Despite the Bisons’ efforts to close the gap, the Wesmen won the set 25-18.
The second set began with the Wesmen winning the first point and Grahame tied the score once again. The Wesmen then scored four consecutive points to take a lead of 12-8, further extending their lead to 16-9.
The gap proved too large for the Bisons to close, and the Wesmen won the set 25-21.
The final set saw the Wesmen winning the first point, but the Bisons dominated subsequently, only to see the Wesmen bounce back, scoring six consecutive points to take a lead from 16-12 to 18-16.
The Wesmen continued to dominate, ultimately winning the set 25-21.
The Bisons finished the match with 31 kills, 98 total attempts and 19 errors, while the Wesmen had 41 kills, 91 total attempts and 13 errors.
The Bisons, despite their efforts, struggled to keep up with the Wesmen’s pace. The team’s errors and inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities ultimately led to their defeat.
