EDMONTON – Balanced offence led the way for the No.6 University of Alberta Golden Bears, extending their win streak in 2020 to five with a straight-sets win (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) over the University of Manitoba Bisons, Friday night at Saville Community Sports Centre.

Sophomore outside hitters Jordan Canham and Braedon Friesen netted 11 kills each in the victory, Canham also recording two block solos, three block assists, and an ace for a match-high 15.5 points. Third-year outside hitter Jackson Kennedy also cracked the double-digit barrier with 10 kills while fourth-year setter Max Elgert notched 37 assists to improve his set average to over 10 on the season.

Senior right side Kevin Negus earned a team-high eight kills for the Bisons while third-year setter Jack Mandryk put up 23 assists.

Alberta improves to 13-4 on the season, allowing them to tie the second-place UBC Thunderbirds, if only briefly, as they battle the conference-leading Trinity Western Spartans in later Friday night action. Manitoba drops to 7-10, currently putting them into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with the Mount Royal Cougars.

The opening set was a back-and-forth affair, the two squads deadlocking on the scoreboard nine times, the Golden Bears slowly building midway through the set before earning a 1-0 set lead off a Friesen kill off the Bison block and out.

The second set featured a couple short point runs, but Alberta never let go of their lead off the first point, Manitoba comparatively struggling with a -9.5% attack percentage. Alberta block leader George Hobern closed out the set with a hand in the two last points, netting a kill before assisting Canham on a block that fell just inside the near side of the Bison court.

Up 2-0 in the set score, the Golden Bears jumped up 4-0 in the final set, but the Bisons fought back, eventually tying their hosts at 7-7.

Alberta responded with a 5-1 run, however, and soon added a 6-1 to put the home team up by eight.

Manitoba attempted to mount a late comeback with two consecutive Negus kills, but the Sioux Lookout, Ont. native then committed a double-touch violation for the Bears' penultimate point before the teams exchanged service errors to finish things off, rookie right side Matthew Campbell sending his serve right down the middle yet long to seal the victory for Alberta.

The two teams meet again on Saturday for the second game of the weekend series, game time starting at approximately 6:30 p.m. MT.