BRANDON - The #4 ranked Brandon Bobcats welcomed the #7 ranked Winnipeg Wesmen, but the Wesmen played like the higher ranked team, sweeping the Bobcats 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-18) in Thursday' s Canada West quarter final match.

Brandon kept pace with Winnipeg early on in the first set, going point-for-point until the Wesmen earned a three point lead at 16-13 to head into the technical time-out. The Wesmen managed to hang onto their lead, despite a late Bobcat surge, taking the set 25-22.

In the second, both teams keep it close once again, until the Bobcats served consecutive set points at 24-22 and 24-23. The Wesmen forced extra points by tying it up at 24 while earning four straight points to close out the second set 26-24.

The third set was all Wesmen. Earning an early lead at 8-3, Winnipeg remained in control to win the set at the match 25-18.

Sebastien Steigmeier led the'Cats with 14 kills, six digs and one block. Sam Tuivai notched seven kills, four digs, and two blocks.

The Wesmen were paced by Tom Douglas-Powell who had 17 kills, three digs, and two blocks. Casey Schouten added 10 kills, four digs, and two services aces. Joshua McKay had a game-high 38 assists, eight digs, and two blocks.

The Bobcats struggled at the service line all night, something that head coach Grant Wilson knows hurt his team.

"Coming in here we knew that they were a very potent and dangerous team and that's what they showed here tonight. On our side of the net, we just didn't take care of the ball. Our serving wasn't anywhere near tough enough to get them out of system and our passing was sketchy at best. When you have that combination, you don't usually have a very positive result and that was the case tonight," says Wilson.

Looking to the rematch tomorrow night, Wilson identified several key areas in which his team needs to improve if they hope to surpass the tough Winnipeg team.

"We need to serve and pass better. Obviously, we'll look at the video to see what adjustments we need to make defensively. The bottom line is we need to be a whole lot better on our side of the court to keep give ourselves a chance against that team," added Wilson.

With the win Winnipeg now leads the best of three series 1-0.

Match two will take place Friday night in Brandon at the Healthy Living Centre. First serve will be at 7pm.

(Photo courtesy Mackenzie Gerry)