Amber Doyle, Bison Sports
WINNIPEG – The No. 9 University of Winnipeg Wesmen avoided the sweep as they topped the rival No. 10 University of Manitoba Bisons 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-18) in men's volleyball at Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday afternoon.
"We played very weak," said Bisons Head Coach Garth Pischke. "Mentally, there was no challenge whatsoever. Credit to University of Winnipeg. They came to play."
The Wesmen were on their A-game in the first set, especially when it came to blocking. With a total of six blocks in the opening set, the Bisons were unable to generate their usual offense.
Because getting blocked counts as an error, the Bisons hitting efficiency was in -.036 for the first set. The negative number means the Herd had more team errors than team kills.
"We have to know that when the other team puts up a good solid block that it's like trying to hit the ball against a wall," said Pischke. "It's not going through the wall."
The Wesmen had 13 blocks through the three sets. Second-year middle Ethan Duncan was responsible for seven, the same amount as the entire Bisons squad.
The Wesmen also had a solid offensive showing. Outside hitter Adrian Dyck led the way with nine kills, while fifth-year Logan Brennan – standing 5-11 – added another eight.
In the second set, the Bisons started in a bit of a hole. It was tied 12-12 when a backrow right side attack by fifth-year Adam DeJonckheere earned the Bisons a lead for the first time in the game. After trading momentum back and forth for the rest of the set, the Wesmen eventually came out on top.
DeJonckheere was the Bisons kill-leader. He put up 12 kills for the hosts.
The Bisons topped the Wesmen 3-1 on Thursday at the University of Winnipeg's Duckworth Centre. Tonight's win snaps the Wesmen's six-game losing streak.
"I thought we had been playing really well since Christmas," said Pischke. "Maybe we started thinking it was pretty easy and we stopped working."
Both teams just crack into the U SPORTS top ten rankings. The Bisons (7-11) sit in tenth place, while the Wesmen (11-7) sit just above in ninth.
Both teams have a bye next weekend, but are back in action on Feb. 2. The Wesmen head to UBC Okanagan to take on the Heat at 8 p.m. PT. The Bisons stay at home to host the Mount Royal University Cougars at 7:45 p.m. CT.
Both games can be seen on canadawest.tv.