REGINA, Sask. – The University of Regina's men's volleyball team had to settle for a weekend split after a four-set loss to Manitoba on Saturday, January 25 night in a Canada West match at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

After sweeping Manitoba in straight sets on Friday, the Cougars continued the momentum with a 25-19 win in the first set on Saturday. But Manitoba (7-11) replied with a 25-19 win of its own in the second to tie the match at a set apiece and won 25-12 and 25-21 in the third and fourth sets to clinch the victory.

Manitoba's Luke Herr had 55 assists in the win, the highest total by a Canada West player in a four-set match this season. Adam DeJonckheere led all players with 19 kills and hit .519, while Devren Dear had 17 kills and Kenny Rooney collected 12 kills and no errors on 16 attacks for a blistering .750 hitting percentage. Besides his assist total, Herr also tied for the match high with eight digs and had a match-leading six blocks.

Andrew Nelson led Regina (1-17) with 15 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. Third-year libero Jacques Borgeaud tied Herr for the match lead with eight digs, while Steve Carston led the Cougars at the net with five blocks. Joel Legasse added eight kills for the Cougars, with Matthew Lueck and Rhodri Simmonds both chipping in with six.

The Cougars never trailed in the first set and scored five straight points with Ryan Cherwaty serving to extend what had been just a three-point advantage to a 23-15 lead. Manitoba cobbled together a brief run of its own before the Cougars put it away on Legasse's second kill of the match.

But that would be the high point of the match for the Cougars, as the first set was followed by a second set which saw Manitoba hit .500 as a team in a 25-19 win. The Bisons led it from wire to wire with Dear scoring seven of his kills in the set alone. And Manitoba hit even better in the third, putting down 16 kills and being charged with just two errors on 22 attacks for a .636 percentage while cruising to a 25-12 win. Both DeJonckheere and Rooney had perfect sets in the third, as DeJonckheere had six kills on six attacks and Rooney was 4-for-4.

Manitoba never trailed in the fourth set, eventually taking a 25-21 win capped by Josh Crellin's fifth kill of the match. The Bisons entered the weekend two wins out of a playoff spot but are now just one win behind a three-way tie involving Brandon, Mount Royal, and Winnipeg for seventh in the Canada West standings. Manitoba will close out the conference schedule against UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers over the next two weekends.

The Cougars are back at home next Friday and Saturday against Thompson Rivers.