Box Score WINNIPEG – The Bison men's volleyball team closed their 2015 post-season with a hard-fought loss in four sets to the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (UBC won 25-17, 29-31, 25-20, 25-12) at Investors Group Athletic Centre Saturday, February 14 night.
 
Devren Dear had a match-high 15 kills and libero Alex Strachan had 10 digs for the Bisons in the losing effort. Alex Russell and Quentin Schmidt each put up 14 kills for the Thunderbirds.
 
UBC started off the game strong, scoring five unanswered points early in the first set and forcing two Manitoba timeouts. Dear fought hard off the breaks, putting up four kills and three digs for the home side, but the Bisons couldn't snap UBC's eight-point lead and lost the set 25–17.
 
The Bisons regrouped to take an early lead in the second set, but lost their advantage to UBC's veteran attackers Ben Chow and Mac McNicol, who combined for nine kills in the second. But when UBC was two points away from claiming the set, Bison Dustin Spiring ended an intense rally with a well-placed kill to the back right corner to extend the game. The teams battled through six more match point chances until the Bisons scored off a UBC attack error to take the set 31–29.
 
The game stayed close in the third. Neither team held more than a two-point lead until Russell and Schmidt scored on consecutive hits to give the Thunderbirds a 23–19 advantage. UBC put up a total fourteen kills and 21 digs to win the set 25–20.
 
The Thunderbirds were a powerhouse in the fourth set. Russell and Schmidt combined for five more kills each to dominate the attack and help hold the Bisons to only eight points at the technical timeout and 12 in the set. UBC took the set 25–12, the game 3–1, and the Canada West quarterfinal playoff series 2–0.