WINNIPEG - It was impressive first set for the visiting UBC Thunderbirds but the no. 7 Manitoba Bisons bounced back and settled into their rhythm enough to hold on for a 3-1 victory (16-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23) on Friday night.
"We just got away from what we wanted to do. We started off the match well but then we have to remember, it's a best of five. We'll try to build on the good things we did tonight and come back with a more complete effort tomorrow," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick.
UBC (2-5) had a good results on paper, with impressive offensive and defensive performances but Manitoba (5-1) was able to win the key points that swung the final three tightly contested sets in their favour.
The T-Birds had four attackers hit double figures in the loss. Rookie
Ben Chow and
Joe Cordonier, who spent time at both right side and middle, each had 13 kills while
Milo Warren and
Demijan Savija had 10 apiece.
At the net, Carry Brett led a strong T-Bird blocking effort with one solo and nine block assists as UBC out blocked Manitoba 17-11. In the back court, UBC matched Manitoba with 41 digs thanks in large part to libero
Blair Bann's match-high 18.
But after dominating early in the match, the see-saw battle always seemed to tip in favour of the hosts down the stretch in sets two through four.
Chris Voth tallied a match-best 17 kills for the Bisons with Dane Pischke not far behind with 16. Ryan Munt and Carson Kauenhowen chipped in with nine and seven kills respectively.
UBC came out strong in the first set, delivering three straight kills to start the game. They kept up the pressure all the way to the first technical timeout, leading 8-6. They increased the gap after the break, denying multiple attacks by the Bisons, and reached the second break with a 16-10 lead. Manitoba tried to make up the ground but it was too little too late, as Brett planted a successful attack on Bison turf, giving his team the first set.
The T-Birds again led early in the second set and it was 16-14 for the visitors before Manitoba fought back to take the lead. The set ended on the point of the match, a fierce back and forth rally that was finally ended by Voth to seal the set for the Bisons.
Another tight set saw the home side up 16-15 at the second technical timeout in the third, however, this time they had no trouble pulling away for their easiest decision of the match.
It was back to a tightly contested affair in the fourth but the Bisons were able to carve a 16-12 lead. UBC battled back to level the match at 21-21 but Voth did enough down the stretch for his Bisons, ending the match on his 17th kill.
Both teams will be at it again on Saturday. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
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