Wesmen start 2022 off with impressive road win

REGINA — The Winnipeg Wesmen got 2022 off to a positive start and moved closer to the .500 mark with a key victory Friday night.

Ashleigh Laube had 10 kills and 11 digs and the Wesmen women’s volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-22) win over the Regina Cougars in their first road trip outside Manitoba this Canada West conference season.

Emma Parker added a team-high 11 kills for the Wesmen, who improved to 3-4 on the season and snapped a four-match losing streak in the process. Heading into Saturday night’s rematch, the Wesmen moved percentage points ahead of Manitoba for third in the East Division and pulled to within two points of second-place Brandon.

Setter Portia Switzer had 25 assists, 11 digs, two aces, and three block assists. Libero Taylor Cangemi had 10 digs, and middle blocker Kely Warmington had a career-high seven block assists.

The Wesmen turned the momentum of the first set early on, using a Switzer ace and three Selva Planincic kills to win eight of nine points and turn an 8-7 lead into a 16-9 advantage into the technical timeout. The Cougars would not get closer than five points the rest of the set.

In the second set, the Wesmen flipped a 15-12 deficit with four straight points and, later, broke a 17-17 tie with a string of five straight points.

The Wesmen pulled a similar trick in the third set falling behind 15-11 before winning seven of the next eight points to take an 18-16 lead. The Cougars pulled even at 19, but Winnipeg followed with three straight points and finished the set out with kills on five of their final six points.

Jessica Lerminiaux was the lone Regina player in double-digit kills with a match-high 12 and libero Sierra Paris-Kruger led all players with 16 digs.

—#REPTHEW—