Alyssa Etsell, U of M Bisons Sports Information

WINNIPEG — Manitoba upset No. 8 Trinity Western in four sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-17) in a back-and-forth women's volleyball match on Jan. 12, 2018 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

"It was a big win against a great team. I'm really pleased with what we did there, it was hard fought," said Bisons head coach, Ken Bentley. "Any win right now in Canada West is really important for any team, not just us."

With the home win, Manitoba moves to a record of 6-9 while Trinity Western drops to 11-5.

The fourth and final set was a spirited battle for TWU to remain in the game.

A few errors on the Spartans part in addition to consecutive well-played kills allowed the Bisons to lead the set early on (10-8).

Ayiya Ottogo continued a Bisons point streak as the Spartans struggled to get control on serve receive (18-12). Hilary Howe got a vicious spike kill as the Spartans tried to battle late in game.

A left-side kill by Ottogo brought the hosts to set point and a strike off the hands clinched the fourth set for the Bisons and in turn, the game.

Both teams came to play in the third set, back-and-forth play lent neither team the opportunity to get an early lead. However, Manitoba pulled ahead thanks to a string of important kills.

The Spartans began to look defeated near the end and gave up a serve receive late, enabling the Bisons to pull within set point. Emily Erickson made a notable middle kill to secure the third set win for the Herd.

Kearley Abbott lead the third set in kills with 14 while Trinity Western's Rachel Flink lead the set in digs with 16.

A nine-point streak enabled the Herd to pull ahead of the Spartans midway through the second set, putting many points between them. A back pocket kill by the Spartans broke the scoring streak and enabled Trinity Western to come within four points for the first time since the start of the set.

Laura Findlay had an impressive spike, serve, kill combo late in the game bringing the Bisons within two of set point at 23-16.

The Spartans with a point streak challenged the home side when the Herd was at set point (24-19) but still took the second set.

Bisons maintained a solid wall in the first set but couldn't capitalize off their own opportunities. Trinity Western lead in scoring for much of this set. A well-battled rally ended with the Spartans clinching set point (25-20).

Both teams will face each other again tomorrow at 7:45 p.m. CT. Watch the match live online at CanadaWest.tv. 

Game leaders:


Kills:


Manitoba – Kearley Abbott, 18


Spartans – Avery Heppell & Hilary Howe, 12



Digs:


Manitoba – Cassie Bujan, 18


Spartans – Rachel Flink, 22



Blocks:


Manitoba – Jocelyn Koswin, 6


Spartans – Katelyn Devaney, 13