The #2 Bison men's volleyball team host Canada West Final Four on March 10-11 at U of Manitoba campus (Investors Group Athletic Centre). Tickets will be available at the door during the two-day major sporting event.

Manitoba finished in first place with 21-3 conference record in the 2016-17 regular season and host Final Four for second time in program's history (2003-04 season).

The Herd will play the first match on Friday, March 10 at 6:30 p.m. CT against the #6 UBC Thunderbirds. The second match will be between the #1 Trinity Western Spartans and #4 Alberta Golden Bears at a scheduled time of 8 p.m. CT.

All four teams have advanced to the U SPORTS championship held at University of Alberta in Edmonton on March 17-19. The Bisons last time at a nationals was 2011-12.

This season, the Bisons faced UBC in conference play twice and swept them at home (W 3-2 on Jan. 13/17; W 3-1 on Jan. 14/17). Also in 2016-17 Canada West play, Manitoba went 2-0 in matches against Alberta at home and 0-2 versus Trinity Western on the road.

The Bison men's volleyball team had an amazing 20 match conference win streak (Nov. 4/16-Feb. 11/17) to propel them to first place during 2016-17. In conference 2016-17 final regular season stats, the Herd was second in hitting percentage at .300, second in blocks at 2.46 per set, fourth in assists at 11.69 per set, fourth in conference kills at 12.48, third in service aces at 1.38 and eighth in conference digs at 9.19.

Individually, Devren Dear was fourth in Canada West with 3.96 kills per set while Adam DeJonckheere 11th at 3.24. Dear finished fifth and DeJonckheere at sixth in hitting percentage at .308 and .299. Luke Herr was fourth with 9.88 assists per set and third with 0.44 service aces per set. Ken Rooney ended up fifth with 1.01 blocks/set while Dear (353.5) and DeJonckheere (271.5) are eighth and 17th in conference points.


Bison men's volleyball - 2017 Canada West Final Four schedule at U of Manitoba
Date                        Match                                                     Central Time       Place
Fri., March 10         Match 1: Manitoba vs. UBC                6:30 p.m.            IGAC
Fri., March 10         Match 2: Trinity Western vs. Alberta       8 p.m.                 IGAC
Sat., March 11        Bronze medal match                               6 p.m.                 IGAC
Sat., March 11        Gold medal match                                   8 p.m.                 IGAC


Bison men's volleyball - 2017 Canada West Final Four Playoff Ticket Prices: $12 adults; $7 non-U of Manitoba students and seniors while children under 12 (accompanied by at least one adult) are free while also U of Manitoba students are free. Group Playoff packages are also available and more information at Bison Sports website (gobisons.ca). Playoff single game tickets will be available at the door.


Bison Notes: The last time the Bisons hosted a conference Final Four in either men's or women's volleyball was the 2007-08 season for the women's squad.
The Bison men's team finished second place at home in the 2003-04 season when they hosted the Final Four.