#3 Bisons take Game 1 of men's volleyball quarter-finals by 3-1 margin

Manitoba leads best-of-three series with a 1-0 advantage over #10 Mount Royal; game two on Fri., Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. CT

Box Score WINNIPEG - The #3 Bison men's volleyball team earned a standing ovation on Thursday, February 25 night, as they opened Game 1 of their Canada West quarter-finals series with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-18) win over the #10 Mount Royal University Cougars.

The Bisons dropped the first set 23-25 before winning the next three 25-23, 25-20 and 25-18 in front of a packed house at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Manitoba finished second in the Canada West division after going 19-5 in the regular season, while Mount Royal went 13-11.

"That's how crazy our conference is. We can't overlook or underestimate anybody," Bison head coach Garth Pischke said after the game. "These guys have a couple major league ball players and they barely made the playoffs. They're a very, very good team."

Mount Royal's Tyler Schmidt led both teams with 22 kills, while Manitoba's Devren Dear led the Bisons with 19.

The game was fast-paced and intense from the opening serve. The Bisons and Cougars battled, tying the first set seven times before Mount Royal won five consecutive rallies to take a 15-11 lead, thanks in part to two service aces from Tanner Greves. The home side responded with powerful attacks from Josh Crellin and Adam DeJonckheere to tie the game at 22, but the Cougars fought back, taking the set 25-23 on an Andrew McWilliam kill.

The tight contest continued in the second. Both teams struggled with long serves and combined for six service errors – including four by Mount Royal – in the first 12 rallies of the set, and Manitoba earned eight points in the second alone off Cougars service errors. The teams traded the lead until a Schmidt attack error gave the Bisons a 23-22 advantage, and Manitoba took the set 25-23 three rallies later on a kill from DeJonckheere.

But Mount Royal wasn't done yet. McWilliam put up three strong kills early on to quickly give the Cougars an 8-3 lead. The visiting attackers forced the Bisons to scramble across the court and perform some incredible gymnastics, as Dear set a ball to win a rally – while lying on his back on the court. From there, the Bisons rebounded, led 16-15 at the technical timeout and dominated the court to gain and maintain a multi-point advantage, eventually winning the set 25-20 on a service ace by Scott Vercaigne.

The Bisons rode this momentum into the fourth and final set. Dear led the dominant home offense with seven kills in the set alone, as Manitoba shone across the board. The Bisons made it 24-17 with a massive joint block from Ken Rooney and DeJonckheere and gave up one point on a Schmidt kill before taking the set 25-18 and the game 3-1.

"We were nervous at the beginning, and I hope that's the reason why our passing was a little shaky," Pischke said. "It really comes down to a simple game. If you don't serve receive [well] or serve tough, then you're not going to be in the ballgame."

The Bisons and Cougars will continue the conference best-of-three series Friday Feb. 26 night at 7 p.m. CT at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The teams will also play on Saturday at 7 p.m. if necessary for game three.

Set scores:
Manitoba: 23-25-25-25=3
Mount Royal: 25-23-20-18=1

Kill leaders
Manitoba: Devren Dear (19), Adam DeJonckheere (16) and Josh Crellin (7)
Mount Royal: Tyler Schmidt (22), Jordan Parkin (15) and Andrew McWilliam (12)

Dig leaders
Manitoba: Caleb Hickok (13), Luke Herr (10) and Devren Dear (7)
Mount Royal: Andrew McWilliam (9), two players (7) and Tanner Greves (6)

Assist leaders
Manitoba: Luke Herr (51)
Mount Royal: Tanner Greves (42), Samuel Brisbane (10) and Jordan Parkin (3)

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