WINNIPEG – Fifth-year Ben Carleton’s 19 kills marked the second most of his career and helped lift the Bisons to a 3-2 (16-25, 25-9, 27-25, 25-21, 15-8) victory over the Calgary Dinos on Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
One night after a strong 3-1 win by the Dinos, Manitoba bounced back for the comeback win Friday.
After the two teams split the first two sets, it looked like the third would tip the scales, with every point a tight battle. The set would go to extras, where Jackson Meier started things with a kill and the Dinos were able to force the side out after a long rally on the ensuing play for the 27-25 win and the 2-1 lead, overall.
But the Bisons quickly claimed the lead back in their favour, jumping out to leads of 8-3 and 24-12 in the fourth. Calgary fought all the way back and nearly completed a comeback for the ages with a 9-0 rally to draw back to 24-21, but a kill by Carleton finally stopped the bleeding to send things to a fifth frame.
Things were tight early, but Manitoba was able to create the separation it needed and finished things off on a 5-1 run to close out a memorable comeback in front of a frenzied home crowd.
With the win, the Bisons improve to 3-3 on the year, while the Dinos fall to 4-2.
Manitoba is back at home next Friday, hosting Mount Royal at 7:45pm. Meanwhile, Calgary heads home to host Fraser Valley for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader.