Box Score Winnipeg, MB – The University of Manitoba Bison women's volleyball team came up short against the #7 University of Calgary Dinos on Friday, Jan. 20 night. The Bisons and Dinos stretched the game to five sets, but the visitors won the final three to take it 3-2 (18-25, 18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-12) at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
 
The Bisons are now 6-9, and the Dinos are 12-3 after their fourth consecutive conference win.
 
"We've just got to follow the game plan better," Bison head coach Jon Hykawy said. "We followed the game plan great for the first two sets today. We served the ball at the right people, we tipped when we had to. We knew how to defend them, and then we sort of thought it was just going to be easy in the third, fourth, and then they sort of controlled the game for a while."
 
Manitoba's Kearley Abbott led both sides with 17 kills, while Kate Pexman topped Calgary's score sheet with 16 kills and 21 digs. Bison Sydney Booker and Dino Leah Shevkenek picked up 47 and 43 assists, respectively.
 
The Dinos got off to an early lead in the first, but that didn't slow the Bisons down. The home side tied the game at 4 and then at 7 before overtaking Calgary on back-to-back Josie Abbott kills to take a 9-7 lead. After that point, the Bisons never trailed and won the first 25-18 on Allison Alcock's third kill of the set.
 
Neither team gained more than a two-point advantage until midway through the second, when a Josie Abbott/Sarah Klassen block put Manitoba ahead 16-13.  The Bisons kept the ball rolling from there. The home team held Calgary to only five more points for the rest of the set and again went on to win 25-18.
 
The powerhouse Bison attackers opened the third with four consecutive well-placed kills, but the Dinos fired right back with three kills of their own. After Manitoba won four rallies in a row, Calgary won eight. The back-and-forth pattern continued throughout the set, but the Dinos came out on top with a 25-22 set win.
 
Calgary came out on top again in the hard-fought fourth. The Bisons and Dinos battled evenly before the visitors jumped ahead to a 16-12 lead. Manitoba – who gave up two crucial points on consecutive attack errors – rallied late in the set but couldn't catch up to Calgary. The Dinos took their second set 25-22 to send the game to five.
 
The teams were neck and neck until the halfway mark of the fifth. A Tori Studler attack error, followed by a Jaylynn Moffatt kill, gave the Dinos a 9-7 lead. The Bisons never made up the deficit, and Calgary went on to win the set 15-12 and the game 3-2.  
 
"Tomorrow, we've got to stay better with our serving," Hykawy said. "We just have to be a little bit better taking care of the ball – simple things … we had every opportunity to tie that set up. "
 
The teams finish up their two-game weekend set on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
 
Set scores
(Bisons listed first): 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 22-25, 12-15
 
Kill leaders
MAN: Kearley Abbott (17)
CGY: Kate Pexman (16)
 
Assist leaders
MAN: Sydney Booker (47)
CGY: Leah Shevkenek (43)
 
Dig leaders
MAN: Josie Abbott (19)
CGY: Kate Pexman (21)