WINNIPEG - The Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team (11-4) couldn't convert on their first opportunity of the weekend to break the Calgary Dinos (15-0) Canada West unbeaten streak, falling 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
BOX SCORE
Calgary pulls their undefeated streak to 15 matches on the year, and subsequently sets up an enormous weekend against Alberta in a week's time, regardless of Saturday's result against Manitoba.
The victory sets up a showdown between the Dinos and the Golden Bears for the right to host the conference Final Four, with the Dinos only needing one victory over the two games to accomplish the feat.
Chris Voth would lead the Bisons with 10 kills, and was second in digs with seven behind teammate Ryan Munt. On Calgary's side, Graham Vigrass held the team lead in kills with 12, while setter Jay Blankenau contributed 33 assists.
The first set was tight the whole way, with Calgary holding the largest lead at 15-11, but for the most part the two nationally ranked teams went kill for kill in the opening set. Both coaches would call late timeouts to try and push their team ahead, with Calgary taking one with the Bisons ahead 22-21, and the Herd taking one shortly after, with Calgary holding a 24-23 lead.
Unfortunately for Bisons fans, Calgary would take the next point and the first set by a score of 25-23. Allen Meek led the Dinos with six kills.
Momentum from the first set carried into the second for Calgary, as they built an 8-3 lead by the first technical. Manitoba would match points with Calgary right up until the second technical at 16-11, and then would start a bit of a run, as the Herd was able to get within two of the undefeated Canada West conference leaders, 19-17.
A quick timeout from the Calgary side seemed to get the Dinos back on track however, and they would close out the set 25-20 on a 6-3 run, giving themselves a chance to win the match in the third set.
The final set was more of the same from Calgary, as they set the tone early, getting out to a 4-0 lead. The Dinos wouldn't relinquish that lead, as the Bisons trailed 8-2 by the first technical, and 16-9 at the second. The Herd would also have a negative attack percentage in the set, getting nine successful kills with 11 errors on 39 total attempts, compared to Calgary's percentage of just fewer than 26 per cent. All those numbers would add up to the Dinos taking the third set 25-17
The rematch between the two teams takes place on Saturday at the Investors Group Athletic Centre right after the women's match, which gets underway at 6 p.m. CT.
-30-
