A fired up Leo Schober and Kristof Schlagintweit. (Photo by Greystoke Photography)
Following an exciting five-set thriller just a night prior, the Heat could not recapture the same magic as they are downed in straight sets by Canada’s No. 8.
Men's Volleyball (Canada West conference play)
Saturday, November 8th, 2014 BOX SCORE | SCHEDULE & RESULTS
Duckworth Centre, Winnnipeg, MB
| FINAL | 1 | 2 | 3 | SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBC Okanagan (0-10) | 10 | 23 | 15 | 0 |
| Winnipeg (7-1) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
WINNIPEG, MB – It was a change in script but with a similar ending for the UBC Okanagan Heat men’s volleyball squad on the road in Winnipeg Saturday night, as they could not survive the dominant Wesmen in a straight 3-0 affair (25-10, 25-23, 25-15).
Serving played a big role for both teams as the Wesmen would go on to tally 12 service aces. A 16-8 lead build by Winnipeg into the technical break of the first set was marked by strong serving, continuing into the remainder of the decisive 25-10 result in that frame.
“We weren’t very sharp in warmup and that transferred in the first set where we didn’t compete,” said Heat coach Greg Poitras postgame.
The closest the Heat would come to taking a set off of Winnipeg was in the second set, as they constantly remained within two points of their opponents, down 16-14 into technical timeout only to take n 18-16 lead, though they would eventually be edged out in a 25-13 affair.
The Wesmen sat in the driver’s seat for the duration of the third, jumping out to a 16-4 lead before putting the weekend to rest in a quick 25-15 manner.
“Set two was back and forth and we increased our level of play but couldn’t turn things around in the end,” Poitras continued. “[In the end], we lost our grit and Winnipeg kept their foot on the gas. We have much to work on as we go forward next week.”
Despite a lackluster offensive performance by the Heat at least one bright spot in second-year outside Lars Bornemann (Victoria, BC) tallying a team-high six kills. Fourth-year libero Jeremy Fostvelt (Surrey, BC) recorded seven digs.
Winnipeg’s Casey Schouten led his team to a match-high 10 kills. David Bommersbach followed with eight. Both players added three aces, while Matthew Dueck contributed four blocks in the effort.
Winnipeg extends its winning streak to six with a 7-1 record, while the Heat will continue searching for win number one at 0-10 through the first five weekends of play.
UBC Okanagan will get their next chance at their elusive W at home next weekend when they host the Saskatchewan Huskies for a weekend series. Meanwhile, Winnipeg also ventures westward to pay Thompson Rivers a visit in Kamloops. Both matches will get underway at 8 p.m.
Watch the action online and stream live stats at canadawest.tv.
~ With notes from Sheldon Appelle (Winnipeg Sports Information)