After jumping out to a first set win, the UBC Okanagan men's volleyball allowed the home Bisons to take the next three sets, ultimately falling (17-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-9) to the third ranked Manitoba squad on Saturday afternoon.
Men's Volleyball (Canada West conference match)
Saturday, January 9th, 2016
Investors Group Athletic Centre, Winnipeg, MB
SET SCORES 1 2 3 4 TEAM RECORDS UBC Okanagan......(1) 25 16 16 9 3-11 Manitoba..........(3) 17 25 25 25 12-2
WINNIPEG, MB - The UBC Okanagan Heat men’s volleyball team had a good start in Saturday afternoon's match against the University of Manitoba Bisons at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The Heat won the first set 17-25 but were unable to keep the momentum losing the next three sets 25-16, 15-16 and 25-9 for a 3-1 loss.
UBC Okanagan’s Alex Swiatlowski had 11 kills, while Manitoba’s Devren Dear had 17.
UBCO started strong causing the Bisons to struggle with keeping the ball in bounds, giving up eight points on attack errors and four points on service errors in the first set alone. Manitoba battled back with strong kills from Adam DeJonckheere and Dear, but it wasn’t enough. The Heat never led by less than four pounts after the technical timeout. UBC Okanagan’s middle Jim Bell closed the set with two straight points on blocks, and the Heat took the first 25-17.
The second set was a different story. The Heat fell behind 9-4 and forced an early Heat timeout. The home team was relentless out of the break, scoring 10 point in 16 rallies before UBC Okanagan retaliated. The Heat attackers changed the pace of the game, putting up four major kills and forcing the Bisons to scramble across the court however still lost the second 16-25.
In the third, the Bisons put up five points and forced a UBC Okanagan timeout before the Heat even made it on the board. Minutes later, Manitoba setter Luke Herr served two aces in a row to force a second Heat timeout. Herr added another ace after the break before losing the serve on an error. The Heat fought back, scoring on four straight rallies and forcing a Bison timeout, but they still couldn’t catch Manitoba’s lead. The home side claimed the set 25-16.
The Heat lost a long rally to start the fourth and fell behind 2-8. The Heat couldn’t recover and only added four more points before the technical timeout. The Bisons took the set 25-9 on a long Heat serve and the game 3-1.
UBC Okanagan is back on the road next weekend for a doubleheader against the University of Alberta Golden Bears.
Set scores: 17-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-9
Kill leaders: Devren Dear (Manitoba) 17, Alex Swiatlowski (UBC Okanagan) 11
Dig leaders: Alex Strachan (Manitoba) 8, Eli Risso (UBC Okanagan) 8
Assist leaders: Luke Herr (Manitoba) 42, Ethan Freund (UBC Okanagan) 31
~ With notes from Danielle Doiron // Manitoba Bisons communications