MVB: Bisons drop five-set thriller to reigning national champions Alberta on home court

Box Score WINNIPEG – The University of Manitoba men’s volleyball team, with a record of 6-8 and tied with the University of Winnipeg for the last playoff spot, hosted the University of Alberta Golden Bears on the court inside the Investors Group Athletic Centre Friday night. Alberta, the reigning U SPORTS national champions, entered the match ranked No.1 in the country with a 13-1 record. 
 
In surprising fashion, the Bisons took the first two sets of match to put the top team in the nation on their heels. However, Alberta stormed back by claiming sets three and four to force a deciding fifth set against a Manitoba squad fighting for their playoff hopes. 
 
Down 11-6 in the fifth, Manitoba strung together four-straight points on the back of an Eric Ogaranko service ace to climb back to within one at 11-10. Multiple service errors from both sides followed before Alberta sealed the come-from-behind victory, taking the fifth set by a final score of 15-12.
 
Landon Currie, Jordan Canham and Cam Kern all had at least seven digs for Alberta, while Canham and Enis Besirevic combined for 24 kills and 31 total points. 
 
Earning player of the game honours, second-year Jonah Dueck was the key in Manitoba’s impressive showing against the 2022 U SPORT champions. Dueck tallied five kills in the match along with three digs and nine total blocks. The latter tied for a career best. 
 
“I think Alberta might have underestimated us a little,” said Bisons Head Coach Lupo Ludwig. “We played very well in those first two sets. We didn’t make a lot of errors and we were very focused. The whole game we blocked very well. Despite being down three or four points we still managed to make it 21-21 in the fourth set and then 11-10 in the fifth, just need to close those out. There are still a lot of good things we can take out of this game.” 
 
After a Jack Mandryk service ace, the underdog Bisons found themselves up 9-7 to begin the opening set of the match. As the set progressed, Manitoba libero Josh Jehle came up with several huge digs for his side. Combined with a few key blocks from Jonah Dueck, the Herd maintained their two-point lead, going up 16-14 following a kill from Ogaranko. The two sides battled to a 23-23 tie before a Manitoba block and an Alberta attack that landed out of bounds clinched the first set for the Bisons, 25-23. 
 
The hosts carried their momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 7-1 advantage after second-year Spencer Grahame put up his first block of the game. Now leading 11-6, Dueck got up and tallied his second block of the match to force a timeout from Alberta. Key plays from all over the court kept Manitoba out front as the set came to a close. Up 24-21 with Alberta on serve, Dueck came up big again with his seventh block of the game and fifth of the set to secure the second frame for Manitoba by a score of 25-21. 
 
Despite being down 2-0 on sets in the match, the visitors didn’t back down as they began to find their came to start the third set. The Bisons remained patient and capitalized on their opportunities to limit the damage and only found themselves down 14-12 midway through the set. 
 
Manitoba was never able to pull even before Alberta claimed the third set by a score of 25-21, pulling them back into the match. Canham and Besirevic both had critical kills, the final two in the set to close things out, while Isaac Heslinga capitalized on strong service pressure from Kern, recording two big kills as well. 
 
Trailing through the majority of the set to begin the fourth, the Bisons never let the Bears go on an extended run while getting several important defensive plays from all over the court. 
 
With Alberta looking strong, they only held a slim 14-13 lead as they fought to force a fifth and deciding set. However, later in the set with Alberta up 21-19, a timely service ace from Matthew Campbell seemed to electrify his squad as on the following point, Grahame put down a huge block for Manitoba to tie the set at 21-21. 
 
Despite the push from the hosts, Alberta went out to take the fourth set 25-22 on a service ace from Besirevic. Overall in the match, the Golden Bears had eight aces. 
 
The fifth set began with Alberta grabbing a 6-3 lead, as they continued to pour the offense on Manitoba. Down 11-6, Manitoba used their 4-0 run to get back in the set but the Golden Bears proved to be too much as they clinched the match-deciding set by a final score of 15-12. 
 
Both teams will be back at Investors Group Athletic Centre tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. for the final game of the weekend.