Back to winning ways with sweep of Bisons

BRANDON, Man. – The Brandon Bobcats were pumped to play at home again, and it showed as the ‘Cats picked up a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22) win over the Manitoba Bisons Friday night.

After dropping a disappointing five set match in the team’s last conference appearance, the Bobcats were wanting to get back to winning ways, especially at home.

The confines of the HLC didn’t disappoint, as the Bobcats hit efficiently on offence and served effectively all night.

The Bobcats were in control through the first two sets, and a slight push from the Bisons early in the third set wasn’t enough.

“With a team like this and we’re so evenly matched we really wanted to show that we’re the better team,” said fourth-year outside Nicole Ashauer.

Ashauer made her first conference start at home of the season after missing the start of the season with an ankle injury.

“It feels fantastic. When you’re surrounded by extremely talented girls all you want to do is play up to them and I think that brings out the best in every single of us,” Ashauer added.

Fifth-year captain  Rayvn Wiebe finished with a match-high 15 kills while sophomore middle Danielle Dardis finished with eight.

Rookie outside Avery Burgar had a match-high five aces to go with five kills while Caitlin Le and Jamie Bain both had match-highs, Le with 18 digs and Bain with 32 assists.

The Bisons were led by Ella Gray’s team-high eight kills while Andi Almonte wasn’t far behind with seven.

The win bumps Brandon ahead in the Canada West east division standings at 3-2 while Manitoba falls to 3-2, setting up a critical rematch Saturday in what will be the Bobcats’ final conference match before the holiday break.