VANCOUVER – The 2017-18 men's volleyball season ended for the Manitoba Bisons on Friday, Feb. 23 night in Vancouver with a 3-0 loss (25-20, 25-17, 25-15) to the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds. With the result, UBC wins the Canada West quarter-final series two matches to none, and will host a semifinal series next week at War Memorial Gymnasium.

Outside hitter Scott Vercaigne and left side Adam DeJonckheere, both playing in what turned out to be their final matches for the Bisons, led their team in kills with 10 and six, respectively. Vercaigne also recorded a pair of aces. Setter Jack Mandryk had a team-best 20 assists.

UBC setter Byron Keturakis was outstanding from the service line, hitting eight aces, while also recording a match-high 35 assists. Joel Regehr knocked down nine kills for the hosts, while Fynn McCarthy and Irvan Brar had eight apiece.

The Thunderbirds took control of the opening set thanks to a six-point run that made the score 18-10. Five of the six points – including three aces – came with Brar serving.

Manitoba did a great job battling back. A couple of Vercaigne aces forced a UBC timeout with the T-Birds in front 19-16.

A kill by Brendan Warren, followed by a combination block from him and Vercaigne got the Bisons within two at 22-20. However, the home side was able to regroup and earned the next three points to close out the set.

The second set saw Manitoba take a slim 6-5 lead early. A kill by Fynn McCarthy was the first of six consecutive points by UBC that opened up an 11-6 advantage. Dustin Spriring's kill gave the Bisons the first point out of the technical timeout, and closed the gap to 16-13 with the hosts still in front. However, Manitoba couldn't get any closer as UBC recorded the next five points to take full control of the set.

The third set also started with the teams trading points. Mandryk's service ace evened the score at 4-4. The Thunderbirds re-took the lead on the next point, and then Keturakis unleashed four straight aces to give his squad all the momentum. A Manitoba timeout after the first couple did little to slow down the Canada West record holder for aces in a season.

Keturakis capped off his night later with another three aces in a row to make it 23-14. UBC took two of the next three points to clinch the match and series. In total, the T-Birds served up an incredible 16 aces on the night.

They will host a best-of-three Canada West semifinal series in Vancouver March 2-4 against the winner of the Alberta-Calgary quarter-final matchup.

Manitoba concludes its season with a loss in the quarter-finals after an 11-13 Canada West regular season campaign. The future looks bright as every player on the current roster, with the exception of Vercaigne and DeJonckheere, has at least one year of eligibility remaining, with the vast majority having at least three.