MVB: Wesmen level Duckworth Challenge at two after 3-0 win over Manitoba

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Wesmen commanded the service line with 12 aces, while Manitoba committed 19 service errors in a 3-0 win for the visitors on Friday night at IGAC.
 
The win leveled the 32nd annual Duckworth Challenge at two, meaning the Duckworth trophy was up for grabs in the women’s game that followed. Winnipeg is now 12-9 while Manitoba is 11-8.
 
Isaiah Olfert led the charge at the service line, with six aces for the Wesmen, and he and Nigel Nielsen combined for 19 kills.
 
The Bisons hit .296 and had 5.5 total blocks, but couldn’t match play from the back line.
 
Jordon Heppner, who started at left side as opposed to his normal spot in the middle, had six kills on eight attacks and an ace while Spencer Grahame had 13 kills.
 
“We had 19 serving errors and 12 passing errors. That’s 30 more points that we’re giving away,” said Bisons head coach Arnd ‘Lupo’ Ludwig postgame.
 
“We made all the errors for them. It’s tough to get the confidence up that way. The good thing is we’ve had a couple of these games and have responded the next day.”
 
Manitoba was the cleaner team in the first, hitting .440 with just two errors, but it was the Wesmen who won by two, thanks to the presence of Olfert at the service line.
 
Olfert’s five aces, along with five kills were the major story, as the Wesmen came back from four down early to take a see-saw opening set.
 
Sammy Ludwig had nine assists in the first, and Grahame posted six kills and a .455 attacking percentage (including a kill to make it 22-21 Bisons) but seven service errors cost the ‘Zoons.
 
Sensational defence from both sides wowed the 2000-plus in attendance during set two.
 
Bisons libero Josh Jehle and Ludwig made incredible pancake digs to keep a rally going that was eventually won by the hosts, while Jehle assisted on a backwards bump set a few points later to give the Bisons a 14-12 lead.
 
But the Wesmen responded, winning the longest rally of the match with an explosive kill from Nielsen, who had six kills in the second. His smash made it 20-19 Wesmen and they did not trail again.
 
Both sides had some costly errors down the stretch (eight each after two), including the set winner, as a Bisons attack went long.
 
Heppner had six kills and an .857 attacking percentage entering the third, while aces continued to tell the story for Winnipeg. Nielsen added two in the set, and the visitors had eight after two compared to one from Manitoba, courtesy of Heppner.
 
The Wesmen got three aces in their first nine points, carrying a three point lead for most of the third set. Liam Kristanson started things off to tie the game at five, and back to back Jaxon Rose aces made it 9-6 Wesmen, and they didn’t trail afterwards.
 
Iranian Junior National Team alum Karil Dadash Adeh made his presence felt with four kills from the right, but 18 service errors overall came back to bite Manitoba.
 
The two teams will play again tomorrow at Winnipeg’s Duckworth Centre at 5 pm.