VANCOUVER – The No. 4-ranked UBC Thunderbirds were upended 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-19) Saturday night by the host Winnipeg Wesmen, who are now on a six-match winning streak after losing their first four Canada West men's volleyball contests.
 
The loss drops UBC to the .500 mark with a record of 4-4. Mac McNicol (Calgary) led the team with nine kills. Alex Russell (Surrey, B.C.) and Mat Guidi (Coquitlam, B.C.) each had seven. Byron Keturakis (Surrey, B.C.) led the team with a match 11 digs.
 
Fifth-year middle blocker Brendan Black led the Wesmen with a match-high 13 kills and nine digs. Black was efficient finishing with a .500 hitting percentage. David Bommersbach had 11 kills and three service aces. Setter Josh McKay had 26 assists, two service aces and nine digs.
 
The first set was dead even with the score tied on 10 occasions before the technical timeout. Winnipeg went into the break with a 16-15 advantage. UBC gained momentum late and held a 22-21 lead late until Winnipeg scored four unanswered points, spearheaded by David Bommersbach and Taylor Howe kills to win the opening set 25-22.
 
Winnipeg jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead in the second set and maintained their lead to 16-11 at the technical break. The Wesmen extended their lead to 22-14 paced by two service aces by Bommersbach and eventually closed out the set by a 25-19 margin.
 
Once again Winnipeg jumped out to a big lead to start the third set. The Wesmen looking to close out the match led 16-9 at the technical timeout. Josh McKay closed out the match with back-to-back service aces to give the Wesmen a 25-19 win in set number three.
 
Winnipeg will enjoy the bye week coming up and will return to action on November 27-28 in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Huskies. UBC will be on the road to Calgary to visit Mount Royal.