WINNIPEG – In about as high-level of a volleyball match as you'll see this early in a season, the Thunderbirds and Bisons battled it out for nearly three hours before Manitoba prevailed in an extra-long five sets (25-19, 20-25, 26-24, 21-25, 20-18).
Aimee Skinner continued her fantastic weekend with 18 kills and 19 digs, while
Lucy Borowski racked up a match-high 23 kills.
Issy Robertshaw recorded her second career 50 assists performance, while
Bronwyn Ettinger had a career-best 20 digs.
Raya Surinx unsuprsingly paced the home team with 21 kills and 14 digs, while Eve Catojo had eight kills and an incredible 10 blocks in support.
The two teams went back and forth to begin the opening set. The Bisons played very well at the net and got their hands on a high number of the UBC attacks, led by Catojo who had three of her blocks in the first.
Manitoba slowly pulled out in front, and maintained a four or five-point lead for much of the middle portion of the set. A nice kill from
Leonora Barbulovich-Nad – one of three for her in the set – made it 15-11 in favour of the hosts, but the Bisons responded by scoring three of the next four points to extend their lead further.
Tianna Kehler made an impact as a substitute, serving as a big part of a scoring run by being part of two straight blocks that cut the deficit to just a single point. But that's as close as the T-Birds would get, as the Bisons then closed the set on a 7-2 run to take it 25-19.
Determined to even up the score, the Thunderbirds came out strong to begin the second. A block from
Kylee Glanville followed by a Barbulovich-Nad ace made it 4-1 early, and the big middle blocker continued to shine in her first start of the season with a pair of kills as well as a block in quick succession to help UBC hold onto the lead.
The Bisons refused to let the T-Birds get a comfortable advantage, keeping the score close but just unable to tie it up. UBC's outside hitters began to get some momentum going as the set went along, and when Skinner served an ace to make it 21-17 the Bisons were forced to call a timeout.
Head couch
Doug Reimer's trust in his bench paid off late, as rookie
Sol Henson stepped in for her first career Canada West appearance and earned kills for her team's 23rd and 25th points of the set.
The two teams traded points in the early going of the third. A block and ace on successive plays from Kehler made it 10-9 T-Birds, but Ella Gray answered right back with a kill of her own to tie it.
The score was also tied at 11, 12 and 13 points, before consecutive kills from Borowski finally made it a two-point game. But despite being down 22-18 near the end of the set, the Bisons roared back to first tie the score at 24 apiece, and then win it 26-24 with a kill from Surinx followed by a Catojo block.
Just like they had in the second, the T-Birds came out strong in a bid to avenge their set loss. A Glanville ace made it 6-3 UBC early in the fourth, and the lead grew to as much as five before the Bisons again began to slowly reel themselves back into things and got as close as one point behind.
A powerful kill from Borowski put the lead back up to three at 22-19, and the Bisons could not get any closer than that for the rest of the set with Borowski ending it with her 21st kill of the day a few points later.
Manitoba took the early lead in the fifth set, but a massive block by the duo of Kehler and Skinner tied it at 5-5. The Bisons again held the lead late in the set at 14-12, but three straight errors from the home team turned their own match point into a UBC match point.
The Thunderbirds were also unable to convert, and the two sides went back and forth until the Bisons finally ended the marathon affair on their fifth match point at 20-18, earning their first win of the season.
After an exciting weekend of action, the T-Birds now have a bye week to rest and recharge. They'll next take on Thompson Rivers on the road on November 7th and 8th.
