EDMONTON – On the night they added their seventh CIS national championship banner to the walls of the Saville Community Sports Centre, the University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team made short work of the UBC-Okanagan Heat, winning in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-20), for the second night in a row.

Fourth-year left-side Ryley Barnes banked 13 kills for Alberta, the match high, while Ryan Nickifor earned nine. Barnes, the championship tournament MVP last season, also finished a .522 attack percentage, one of three Bears to do so as middle Taylor Arnett earned a .600 percentage on 10 attacks, while setter Brett Walsh picked up a .750 attack rating on four attacks.

The Heat was fueled by 11 kills from Alex Swiatlowski, while Jim Bell chipped in with nine.UBC-O did manage to have a better serving game on Saturday against Alberta, finishing with four aces to Alberta's three. On Friday night the Bears recorded eight aces on the Heat, but struggled from the night in the rematch, finishing with 13 service errors.

The Bears were strong everywhere else though, finishing with a team .345 attack rating, 45 kills and eight blocks, while UBC-O earned a .123 attack rating, 27 kills and five blocks.Kevin Proudfoot, who earned 11 kills on Friday, picked up four more kills in the opening set on Saturday, helping Alberta to a 25-21 victory. Proudfoot would go on to finish with seven kills in total.

Alberta then won sets two and three by identical scores of 25-20 to win the match 3-0, and earn the weekend sweep of the Heat.

With that, the Bears have begun defence of their Canada West and CIS titles by starting the 2014-15 season with a 2-0 record. They return to action next weekend, October 17-18, when they travel to Saskatoon to take the Saskatchewan Huskies.

UBC-O, meanwhile, begins the new season with a 0-2 record, and resumes conference play next weekend as well when they host the Trinity Western Spartans.