WINNIPEG – History was made in multiple ways on Saturday night at IGAC, as the No. 3 nationally ranked Manitoba Bisons cemented themselves as one of the top contenders for the national championship with a 3-1 win (25-20, 25-17, 23-25, 25-11) over Saskatchewan.
The victory improved the Herd's record to 20-4, and they capped off an undefeated regular season at home, at 11-0. They've only lost two games at IGAC over the last two seasons.
Manitoba's 20 wins are the most in the regular season in program history, passing the prior best of 19, set in 1997-98. That year's group went 40-3 overall, advancing to the national final.
With their win, the Herd are the No. 2 seed for the Canada West playoffs, which begin on Friday at 7 pm at home.
Along the way, setter
Katreena Bentley destroyed the Canada West and U SPORTS record for assists in a season, reaching 983, 41 more than the prior record, set in 2017-18 by Eryn Orysiuk of Alberta.
Bentley needed eight assists entering the game, and she more than topped it, recording 14 in the first set alone.
Five different Bisons had kills in the Herd's first 14 points, with the record-breaking play occurring on a back set to left and right side
Andi Almonte with the score 13-9.
"It feels super humbling, obviously because I know I can't do it without all of my teammates and all the hard work they've put in. I'm only one of three contacts that it takes to make all those kills happen," said Bentley.
"I didn't really feel great until it was over, just because I knew we had a job to do. In order to secure our second spot, we knew we had one full send left in us for the regular season, and then we could crack on with the rest of our goals."
In fitting fashion, Bentley's record-breaking assist was aided by a critical dig by libero
Julia Arnold, who finished the game with 15.
A Bisons attack was blocked at the net, but Arnold was right there to keep the ball in play, leading to Bentley's set to Almonte, who finished with 14 kills, 14 digs and 17 total points.
Arnold led CanWest, with 347 digs this season, and her 1,064 overall are the second most in program history in the rally scoring era, and the 14th most factoring in old school scoring.
Bentley and Arnold first met in kindergarten, and have been through every year of school together.
They started playing volleyball in third grade at the start of the mini volley program that Katreena's dad and coach Ken started. Their first year of club together was in grade five, at age 11.
"It's so poetic. Julia is always there for me, keeping it alive. She's always picking me up," smiled Katreena.
"It's actually perfect."
Bentley finished Saturday's game with 48 assists, 207 more than anyone else in the country. On the bench to witness it all was assistant coach Michelle Sawatzky-Koop, a three-time national champ for Manitoba [1990-92] as a setter, as well as two-time Player of the Year.
Sawatzky-Koop's 2076 digs are second in school history, as are her 282 aces. Suffice to say, she knows a thing or two about elite play at the position.
"She's just getting wiser. And just her hustle, that above all, for me has gone to the next level in the short time I've been here. She stays on her feet, gets to every ball, sets every ball. Even when she bump sets, they're just amazing," said the assistant coach.
"That's something she does way better than I ever did. Making the balls hittable, wow. I am so impressed with her. I love watching her play. I enjoy being a small part of what she's doing. She's just killing it. Even when she's hard on herself I don't think she understands how well she's playing."
As Sawatzky-Koop noted, Bentley's bump setting has been incredible all year, and it was on full display in the regular season finale.
The best example came in the third set, where she sprinted all the way from the right to left, staying just off the net to deliver a perfectly placed assist to Almonte for the Bisons' tenth point.
"She's just full of tenacity. She's incredibly committed to whatever she's doing. She has a level of persistence that's really impressive," added coach Ken.
"I think she feels the weight that every second contact is hers essentially in a game. You touch the ball more than everybody else, you ought to be really good at it. "She has a big passion for playing. She loves the fight and she loves the challenge of it all. What else could you ask for?"
Katreena did what she did without the leading attacker in the nation,
Raya Surinx in the lineup all weekend. It goes to show the depth of Manitoba's roster, and the work that they've put in to achieve history.
As the Bisons begin their push for their first national title since 2014, their cerebral setter isn't thinking about personal accolades. It's onto the next one for her and her squad.
"I think I really like to win. That's how people will remember me. Purely competitive, in a joyful way."
