WINNIPEG – The University of Manitoba Bisons were down two sets to none to the Saskatchewan Huskies but came all the way back to defeat the visitors (23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-9) on Saturday night inside the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
The Bisons blocking game ignited the comeback as they rattled off three straight set victories to snap their eight-match losing streak and finished their Canada West season on a winning note.
"There is always a little bit of doubt when you go down 2-0," said Bisons fifth-year Kevin Negus, who played in his final regular season match in brown and gold.
"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy road if we wanted to come back and win that game, but we played as hard as we could those last three sets and came out on top."
Despite the loss, the Huskies will play in the Canada West quarterfinals next weekend in Edmonton.
"We play a really good Alberta team next weekend so we are going to have to play way better than we did tonight if we want to be successful," stated Saskatchewan head coach Sean McKay.
Down two sets to one and trailing in the fourth set 16-14, the Bisons came from behind to take their first lead of the set 19-18. From there, Manitoba strung together five more points in a row, thanks in large to two huge blocks from Jack Mandryk. Schwartz finished off the fourth set with his 13th kill of the match to tie the match at two sets a piece.
In the fifth and final set of the match, Manitoba completed the come from behind victory by taking the final set 15-9.
The visitors led for the almost the entire first set and found themselves up 19-14 with all the momentum in their favour. Saskatchewan's Daulton Sinoski put down his first kill of the match to give the Huskies the opening set by a score of 25-23.
The Bisons once again trailed through the early stages of the second set before going on a run to find themselves with a lead of 16-13 at the technical timeout. It was then the Huskies turn to make a comeback, a series of Manitoba blocks that went out of bounds got Saskatchewan back in the set, tied at 19-19. Up 24-22, Saskatchewan put away the second set thanks to a block from fourth-year Aidan Saladana.
Manitoba was up 16-12 at the technical timeout of the third set before allowing three straight points out of the break to give the Huskies some life. However, four kills from Schwartz helped the Bisons secured the third set, sparking the eventual Manitoba comeback.
With the regular season now over, the Huskies will continue on to the Canada West playoffs beginning next weekend. Manitoba did not qualify for the playoffs and will look ahead to March as they host the 2020 U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championships.
