WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Wesmen (4-6) displayed their resiliency, fighting back from two points down late in the second and third set en route to a 3-1 win (16-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-18) over the Manitoba Bisons (3-5) on Saturday night at Investors Group Athletic Centre.
Service errors were a major storyline, as Manitoba committed 15, giving the visitors a few different chances to claw back.
"It wasn't so much the number, it was when we made them," Bisons head coach Garth Pischke said postgame.
"They were really at inopportune times. There were a couple of times after a timeout and momentum is obviously on our side and we missed it."
Opposite hitter Daniel Thiessen led the attack for Winnipeg with 19 kills on 38 total attacks while right side Kevin Negus led all players with 23 kills on 48 attacks.
The Bisons took an early lead and didn't relinquish it the rest of the way in a 25-16 set win. Manitoba had an extremely efficient .632 hitting percentage, with five different players recording at least two kills.
Left side Owen Schwartz was particularly effective, cashing in on all three of his attacks while also recording a block and a dig. The Wesmen had eight errors as a team but did get three kills from outside hitter Liam Kristjanson.
There were five different lead changes in the fifth set. Manitoba took a two-point advantage at 20-18, led by Jack Mandryk's well-distributed 13 assists, along with seven kills from Negus.
The Wesmen fought back however, allowing just one more point afterwards en route to a 25-21 win. Winnipeg hit .353 as a team, with Thiessen, middle Keegan Teetaert and outside hitter Nigel Nielsen all recording at least three kills.
It was deja vu in the third set as the Wesmen once again fought back from 20-18 down, winning 26-24.
Defence was a major storyline, especially late as both sides recorded some impressive digs to keep rallies going. Libero Darian Picklyk had six digs for his side while fellow libero Ted Glass added with six for Manitoba.
With Winnipeg up 11-10 in the fourth set, Thiessen took over. He was a menace at the service line and added two kills during the run as Winnipeg took a 16-13 lead into the technical timeout and didn't relinquish it the rest of the way for the four set win.
Next up for the Bisons is a road tilt again MacEwan while Winnipeg is on a bye heading into the holiday break.
