WINNIPEG – The No. 3 Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team is riding an 11-game win streak after an intense start to the second half of the season against the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The Bisons came out on top after five closely fought sets (25-22, 26-24, 21-25, 19-25, 15-12), marking the end of UBC's four-game win streak.
 
The Bisons are now 12-1 after a conference bye last week, while the Thunderbirds fall to 8-5 after sweeping UBC Okanagan in last weekend's two-game set. Friday was the first meeting between Manitoba and UBC this season.
 
Manitoba's Devren Dear led both teams with 20 kills, while UBC's Irvan Brar racked up 17. Luke Herr had 44 assists and 11 digs for the Bisons. Byron Keturakis had similar numbers (43 assists and 11 digs) for UBC.
 


The teams set the pace for the first set on the opening serves. UBC then Manitoba served long, and each team followed with a kill. The back-and-forth play continued for the rest of the set. A Brar kill pushed UBC ahead 18-17 but the hosts won the next three points to take a 20-18 advantage and never trailed after that. Back-to-back Dear kills, and a powerful Adam DeJonckheere attack gave the Bisons the first set 25-22.
 
The game stayed just as tight in the second. Manitoba got off to an early 7-4 lead and never trailed until the end of the set. The Thunderbirds tied the game four times before third-year setter Keturakis' service ace gave UBC a 21-20 lead. But the Bisons tied the game back up and eventually subbed in Herr, who fed Dear for the final two kills of the set, which Manitoba took 26-24.
 
In the third, UBC capitalized on three Evan Jackson attack errors in a row to win six consecutive rallies and take a 13-8 lead. The Bisons fought back and brought the game within a single point, but the Thunderbirds answered back, winning two rallies of their own. Then Brar knocked down a kill to make it 23-19, and repeated the feat to close out the third set 25-21.
 
Neither team gained more than a one-point lead in the fourth until midway through the set. The Bisons lost the serve, and UBC put up three kills – including two from Mat Guidi – to get ahead 17-14. Manitoba never recovered from the deficit and, after a disputed call saw the Bisons lose the serve late in the game, the Thunderbirds won their second set 25-19 on a Cam Fennema kill.
 
UBC held a 9-5 lead in the fifth thanks to a 5-2 run that included kills by Keturakis and Brar. A Mat Guidi kill later in the set gave the visitors an 11-8 advantage but the home side reeled off a spectacular surge, winning seven of the next eight points to claim the fifth set and the match victory.
 
The teams finish up their two-game weekend set on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT at Investors Group Athletic Centre.