By: Kelly O'Donnell, Bison Sports

WINNIPEG – The Manitoba Bisons women's volleyball team took the win in a tough five-set match against the MacEwan University Griffins (25-16, 18-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12) at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday, Nov 18. 

"The record does not indicate how good that team is," said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley. "That was a good fight, I mean, they (Griffins) played unbelievably good."

Both teams put up a great fight on defense. The MacEwan Griffins libero Karly Edgar had 35 digs throughout the match, and Bisons libero Cassie Bujan had 25 digs. 

"I thought Cassie played unbelievable," said Bentley. "She passed dimes the whole weekend."

In the final points of the fifth and final set, Bisons power Ayiya Ottogo hit a hard spike down the line, and Bisons power Kearley Abbott and middle Emily Erickson put up a huge block to win the final set 15-12 for the Herd.

Kearley Abbott had 18 kills while Griffins' Cassidy Kinsella had 16 kills in the five setter.

The Bisons took the first set 25-15, finished with a power spike from Manitoba power Tori Studler. She had three kills out of five total attacks, giving her a hitting efficiency of .60 in the first set. 

MacEwan came back in the second set, winning 25-18 with six kills from Griffins power Kate Rozendaal. Libero Karly Edgar added 10 digs to make a total of 22 digs in the first two sets.

The third set was point for point, but Studler finished the set with a hard spike once again, 25-21 for the Bisons. Kearley Abbott showed her talent with seven kills in the set and impressive digs. 

The Griffins gained a five-point lead in the fourth set, leading 20-15 at one point. A big hit followed by a well-placed tip by Bisons power Josie Abbott changed the momentum for the Bisons, bringing the score back up to 23-20 for the Bisons. The Griffins then came back five points in a row, winning the set 25-23 after a net violation by the Bisons.

Manitoba's women's volleyball team will play the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack next weekend in Kamloops, BC at 8:00 p.m. CT on Friday, and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night (Nov. 24, 25) while the Griffins are at UBC on the same weekend. The match can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.

Game Leaders
Kills: 
Manitoba – Kearley Abbott 18
MacEwan – Cassidy Kinsella 16

Digs:
Manitoba – Cassie Bujan 25
MacEwan – Karly Edgar 35

Blocks:
Manitoba – Emily Erickson 7
MacEwan – McKenna Stevenson 7