Middle blocker Alex Russell had four kills in the fifth set and a huge solo block on match point to seal up the win for the 'Birds. His effort in the fifth was especially important after his partner in the middle, Chris Howe, went down with an ankle injury early in the set.

The 'Birds were already without their top two setters and their top outside hitter due to injury, but they were picked up by great performances from some of the young guns on the roster, including Gabriel Aaron, who led the team with 10 digs and tied for the team lead with 15 kills on .387 hitting.

Another key performer was rookie Mat Guidi, who made big contributions in both the fourth and fifth sets, finishing with seven kills on .333 hitting.

UBC led by eight points midway through the first set before the Bisons made a late charge, eventually losing, but not before closing that lead all the way down to two. That seemed to energize the visitors and stun the home side, as the Bisons went on to win the next two sets, hitting over .300 both times while the UBC offence struggled.

Devren Drear led a three-pronged attack from the outside for the Bisons, racking up 21 kills and nine digs on the night. Adam DeJonckheere had 18 kills on .395 hitting, adding 11 digs, and Kevin Falconer had 17 kills.

In the middle, Kenny Rooney had 12 kills, two solo blocks and three block assists.

Ben Chow tied Aaron for the UBC lead with 15 kills. In the middle, Russell and Howe were both efficient offensive options for the 'Birds, combining for 17 kills on only 29 attacks.

The Bisons fall to 1-3 on the season, and will return to Manitoba to start a four-match home stand next weekend that will see a pair of ranked opponents come to town in Saskatchewan and Brandon.

UBC improves to 2-2 with the win, and they will also be at home next weekend looking to keep it going against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. Those teams get together on Saturday, November 9 and Sunday, November 10 at 3 p.m.