WINNIPEG – The University of Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball team welcomed the Brandon University Bobcats to the Investors Group Athletic Centre for the first of a two-game weekend series on Friday night in Winnipeg.
The Bisons swept the Bobcats in three-straight sets to earn their fourth win of their campaign, improving to 3-4 on the season. Second-year Ella Gray posted a .473 hitting percentage in the match while recording 11 kills, seven digs, a service ace and a block. Fellow sophomore Andi Almonte was named the player of the game for Manitoba, recording eight kills on 33 total attacks along with a pair of service aces.
“Input equals output and their output is high because their input is high. It’s that simple,” stated Bisons’ head coach Ken Bentley, referring to the play of Gray and Almonte. “They both played really well tonight. Andi was a beast in all areas of the game and Ella was great too. This performance is completely reflective of what they do everyday.”
Manitoba came out of the gate hot, leading the first frame wire-to-wire and eventually securing 1-0 advantage in the game after taking the set 25-18. Almonte put down the set-clinching kill, her third of the opening set while Gray led Manitoba with four kills on seven attempts in the first.
The Bobcats tightened their game up to start the second set, jumping out to a 10-7 lead thanks to kills from a variety of players including Keely Anderson, Syree Tucker and Avery Burgar. Later on, a Bobcat error levelled the score back to even at 17-17 before Chloe Ellerbrock gave her Bisons team their first lead of the set on her first kill of the game. With the set on the line, Gray got her ninth kill to push the second set to 24-22 before a Bobcat handling error secured it for Manitoba, 25-22.
In the third set and up 2-0 in the match, the Bisons rediscovered their dominant play from early on, stringing together several multi-point runs resulting in a 19-7 lead. Manitoba’s Raya Surinx set up match point for her team with her seventh kill of the game. Two points later, Almonte floated an attack over the Bobcat block to claim the third set and the match.
“Saturday is always tougher,” added Bentley. “We talk about it at nauseam and will keep talking about it at nauseam. We will get prepared for tomorrow night and watch the film. There are still areas we can be better when we get back to work tomorrow. If you want to make headway in this league, splits are not the way to do it. “
Both teams will be back at Investors Group Athletic Centre tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. for the final game of the weekend.
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