A strong effort over the holidays didn't help as the Heat faced one of the top teams in the country on their home court. Ultimately the UBC Okanagan men's volleyball team fell to the No. 3 Manitoba Bisons in three sets. These two play again on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST.
Men's Volleyball (Canada West conference match)
Friday, January 8th, 2016
Investors Group Athletic Centre, Winnipeg, MB
SET SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS UBC Okanagan........ (0) 13 21 15 3-10 Manitoba............ (3) 25 25 25 11-2
WINNIPEG, MB - The UBC Okanagan Heat men’s volleyball team lost their first game after winter break in straight sets, being swept by the third-ranked Manitoba Bison’s 13-25, 21-25, 15-25 at Investors Group Athletic Centre Friday night.
With this loss the Heat falls to 3-10 after their second straight loss whereas the No. 3 Bisons improve to 11-2 extending their win streak to three games.
Manitoba’s Devren Dear led both teams with 16, while fellow Bison Adam DeJonckheere and the Heat’s Alex Swiatlowski each had 10. Rookie Devon Cote received the start and finished with five kills and five digs. Leo Schober also had five kills and the 6'7" middle led his team with three blocks. Kristof Schlagintweit recorded UBCO's only service ace.
Strong attacks in the first set, including two consecutive kills from Ken Rooney, gave Manitoba an early 6-2 lead, forcing UBC Okanagan to call an early timeout. The Heat responded with four kills from Swiatlowski in six rallies, but the Bisons stayed ahead, in part due to three straight Heat offensive errors.
The Heat challenged the home side with long, hard-fought rallies that had both teams scrambling across the court, something that is rare for men’s volleyball. But despite this effort, the Heat couldn’t hold off the Bisons. Heat lost the set 13-25.
The second saw a closer contest. The Heat and Bisons battled for every point, and neither team could gain more than a three-point lead until late in the set. The Heat fell behind 16-20 after a Heat attack error. UBC Okanagan fought to catch up, however, after Bisons Kevin Falconer, DeJonckheere and Dear each added a kill, the Heat were unable to claim the second 21-25.
The tight game continued at the start of the third, but the Heat struggled to contain Manitoba’s strong offense. The Bisons pulled ahead 16-9 after a pair of three-point streaks. The Bisons took the third 25-15 and the game 3-0.
The teams will face off again Saturday, Jan. 9 at 1 p.m. (PST) at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
~ With notes from Danielle Doiron // Manitoba Bisons communications