Bisons volleyball host Sask with tons of post-season implications

There’s tons on the line in the final regular season series of the season for Manitoba’s volleyball teams. Welcoming Saskatchewan to town, the men can guarantee the eighth and final playoff spot with a win on Friday (and a loss by TWU), or series sweep over the 15-7 Huskies, while the women, ranked No. 3 in the nation, can earn a home date for the quarterfinals with a sweep of 8-14 Sask, or two losses by TWU and Alberta. 

Games are 6 and 5 pm on Friday and Saturday for the men, and 7:45 and 6:45 for the women. Click here for tickets. 

The men’s volleyball team’s overall defence has been a major strength. Middle Jonah Dueck is fourth in the nation with 1.24 blocks per set, while Jordon Heppner is sixth in the nation with 81 total blocks. Additionally, libero Josh Jehle’s 192 digs are a career high and are second in the nation. 

The Herd will need a spirited effort on the defensive end, as the Huskies boast the nation’s assists leader in Noah Opseth. Sask also has two of the top ten hitters in the country, as Emmett Graham and Isaiah Mamer are sixth and ninth in the nation in kills, at 299 and 271. 

Mamer is a familiar name to Bisons standouts Jehle, Dueck, Spencer Grahame and Sammy Ludwig, as the quartet trained with him this summer as part of Team Canada’s U21 roster. 

Offensively, impact recruit Karil Dadash Adeh, who joined the team after Christmas, is coming off a 20 kill performance in last Friday’s win over first place, 16-6 Alberta. Grahame added 21 kills in the contest, and he leads the team and is 15th in the nation with a career high 247 kills. 

On the women’s side, setter Katreena Bentley has the chance to make history. 

If the third-year setter records 60 assists, she will set a new Canada West single season record with 943 on the year. Her 883 assists are 176 clear of anyone else, and she’s coming off a weekend where she put up 95 assists over two games against Alberta. 

The Bisons have controlled the national conversation in multiple categories. Leading attacker Raya Surinx has 388 kills, while libero Julia Arnold leads Canada West and is in third in the country with 313 digs. 

Surinx’s 388 kills are the eighth most in a Canada West season (dating back to 1999), while Arnold’s 1030 digs are the second most in the modern era in Bisons history (she just recently passed former national champion Caleigh Dobie’s 1004).

With a sweep, the women’s volleyball team would complete a perfect 11-0 regular season record at home. Dating back to last season, they are 20-2 at IGAC.