The number three ranked University of Manitoba Bisons moved their Canada West conference record to 13-5 on Wednesday February 3 with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-14, 25-19) win over their cross city rivals from the University of Winnipeg (6-10).

The Bisons were led by Sarah Morrissette, who had 10 kills in the contest, but the Wesmen’s Lauren Sears bested Morrissette by three, leading the game with 13 kills. With the exception of the second set, both teams had attack percentages lower than 20 per cent, but Bisons setter Sam Loewen still managed 35 assists, compared to Wesmen setter Rhea White, who picked up 26 of her own.

The Bisons carried their momentum from the second set into the third, not letting the Wesmen play themselves back into the game. For the second set out of three, both teams’ attacking percentages were under 20 per cent. The Bisons still held the edge with a 0.152, but the Wesmen weren’t far behind with a 0.122. The Bisons led for most of the set, and never relinquished the lead after the first technical timeout, as they took the third and final set 25-19.

The second set was a different story for the Bisons, whose hitting percentage shot up to 0.423 in the second frame, while the Wesmen went the other, falling to 0.031. The Bisons never trailed in the set, despite efforts by Wesmen coach Diane Scott, who used two time outs and substituted a number of players, but it wasn’t enough as the Bisons took the second set 25-14.

The Wesmen gave the #3 Bisons all they could handle in the opening set. The Wesmen held a number of leads, including a 20-17 lead late, but Bisons head coach Ken Bentley called a timeout, and the Bisons came back and scored eight of the next 11 points to take the first set 25-23. Neither team had an attack percentage over 20 per cent in the set, with the Bisons holding a slight edge with a 0.174, in comparison to the Wesmen’s 0.115.

The Bisons have the coming weekend of February 5 and 6 off before hosting Saskatchewan the following weekend on Feb. 12-13 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. The Wesmen are in action this Friday and Saturday, when they host Regina.