EDMONTON – In a battle between the two top teams in Canada West, and two of the top three teams in the country, the University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team made a statement with a straight sets (25-16, 25-21 and 25-19) victory over the Manitoba Bisons on Friday, November 20 night.

Both teams were undefeated coming into the Friday night tilt, both with identical 8-0 records, while the Bears were ranked No.2 in CIS and Manitoba was one spot behind at No.3.

Alberta also entered the series having only dropped one set all season, riding a seven straight set match winning streak, and having played the fewest sets in the conference (25). 

The two-time defending national champions looked the part of the better team on Friday, as they dispatched the Bisons in three straight, while recording a team hitting percentage of 27%. The Bears also banked nine aces and 11 blocks against the Bisons.

Manitoba, on the other hand, had a tough time on the service line and in their serve receive game, generating just one ace and yielding nine receive errors. Those first touch errors cost the Bisons offence as setter Luke Herr wasn't able to effectively run the offence or pass where he wanted to because Alberta was so strong on the serve.

The Golden Bears received a team high 16 kills from fourth-year Ryan Nickifor, while Ryley Barnes, a CIS first team all-Canadian last season, added 12 kills. Setter Brett Walsh, who was the CIS championship tournament MVP last season, spun five aces in the win, and dished out 34 assists.

The Bisons got a strong night's work from fourth-year Devren Dear, who smacked a match high 17 kills onto the Alberta floor, but the next highest kill shot total belonged to Kevin Falconer, who had four.

Alberta focused on the back row attacks against Manitoba, and the move paid off in spades as the Bisons often appeared to be focused on Barnes, while Nickifor was the one dealing the damage.

The plan worked to a "T" in the first set as the Bears cruised to a 25-16 victory.

After the Bears started strong in the second set, Manitoba roared back late, earning five straight points to cut Alberta's eight point advantage down to just three points, at 22-19. The Bisons came on strong and managed a 35% clip as an offence, but couldn't get over Alberta's superior serving game. The Bears picked up four aces in the second set which carried them to the 25-21 victory, and the 2-0 match lead.

Three more aces in the third set helped pave the way to the straight sets win as Alberta closed out the match 25-19.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday, with match time starting at 5 p.m. MT.