WINNIPEG – Facing off in IGAC for the first time since last year's instant classic in the national semi-final, the Manitoba Bisons and UBC Thunderbirds engaged in yet another thriller, combining for 97 kills, 94 digs and 18.5 total blocks in a gritty back-and-forth battle won by the visitors, 3-1 (25-27, 25-21, 22-25, 22-25).
 
The T-Birds moved to 3-0 with the win, while Manitoba fell to 0-1.
 
Service pressure played a big factor in the game. The visitors had ten aces, while forcing the Bisons out of system at times. Bisons middles Eve Catojo and Aviendah Plett combined for ten kills, hit a combined .526 with just one error and each had ten assisted blocks and two solos, but their impact on the game was affected by serve-receive as the game went along.
 
"That was probably the most glaring issue tonight. Our service-receive just wasn't very good. We couldn't take advantage of our middle players," said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley.
 
"We couldn't take advantage of Eve the way we needed to. Early on, Avi hit some great steps and that's an important set for us this year, and she blocked the ball great. Everything I wanted Avi to do, she did 100 percent. But it was just hard for us to generate offence out of the middle tonight. We just didn't get very many looks."
 
Akash Grewal jumped ahead of former teammate Olivia Furlan for career regular season service aces in the UBC win. She had half of her side's ten aces, and now has 146 as a T-Bird, which ranks 12th all-time in Canada West. UBC had three hitters with over ten kills, while Issy Robertshaw dished out 45 assists.
 
Raya Surinx led Manitoba with 15 kills, and she now has 996 in the regular season for the Bisons, just eight shy of the top 20 in Canada West history. Chelsea Siebenga, making her first career U SPORTS start at libero after shifting from a hitting position, had 14 digs, and veteran Elia Falcone, taking over as starting setter following Katreena Bentley's graduation, had 31 assists and five assisted blocks.
 
The T-Birds hit .500 in the first 18 points, taking an 11-7 lead, with impact recruit Aimee Skinner out of Vancouver Island University playing a big role. The former middle had some impressive plays from the pipe, and was assertive at the service line.
 
"She hits a heavy ball," Bentley said on Skinner. "We did a better on her the more the match went on. She's got a heavy spike serve, so she took some good chews there. UBC is always going to be talented, it's no surprise there but we have a lot of talent too in our side."
 
Falcone ran the middles effectively as the first set went along, helping the Herd battle back.
 
Plett smashed down a no-doubter on a step around to her right, while Catojo blasted a kill with ferocity through a double block as the Herd drew even into the 20s, also thanks in part to three assisted blocks from Plett.
Tied at 24, Grewal won the set for the T-Birds with back-to-back kills, capitalizing on some stable passing and runs from her side.
 
Set two was another nail-biter. This time the hosts came out on top by three.
 
Surinx kept UBC on their toes with strong service pressure, as did Andi Almonte, who had two of Manitoba's four aces in the match, along with six kills, ten digs and three assisted blocks.
 
Back-to-back Grewal aces gave UBC a 20-19 lead, but the Bisons responded at the line, and with tireless defence.
 
A Plett ace gave Manitoba a 21-20 lead, and they scored four of the next five points to tie the match. Falcone and Siebenga both laid their bodies on the line to keep rallies alive which led to Manitoba points at key times. Falcone found Surinx on the left for a kill off a double block to end the set.
 
"Chelsea made a lot of really good plays, and is way better than when she started in terms of her positioning defensively. She's more aware. Now it's just playing certain hitters better and getting a better read on them. It's part of the steeping learning curve, and walking the path and staying in it and not getting overwhelmed and falling behind in the play," said Bentley.
 
"I thought for the most part [Siebenga and Falcone] did a really good job. I'm sure there's a few they'd love to have back, but so would I. You're going to accumulate some scars along the way. That's just part of it. I think it was important not to get discouraged, because we certainly had a chance to win the first set, but it didn't work out, so you have to play the second set just like you did the first. I was happy we did that. We didn't get discouraged. We played forward. It was a good job on our part to not get down in the dumps."
 
Tied in the 20s in set three, some tough errors cost Manitoba. The T-Birds took a 21-20 lead on an error as well as 22-21. A Kylee Glanville and Jocelyn Lenarcic block gave them the set, 25-22 despite impressive fight from the Bisons.
 
A diving Ella Gray dig that led to an Almonte roll shot over a double block was one of many highlights for the hosts in the set, who hit .364.
 
The two sides went back and forth again in the fourth. The visitors took a three-point lead at 15-12 but the Herd answered with three in a row, two off UBC errors. Surinx had a key back row dig that led to one of those errors, while Gray and Plett combined for an assisted block to tie the game at 15.
 
Errors hurt Manitoba again down the stretch. The hosts surrendered a few late, including on match point in a marathon game that went two hours.  
 
The two teams play again on Sunday at 2:45 pm.
"Credit UBC for hanging in and earning the errors on our part, but I felt like we lost those last two sets on our own hand to a good degree. That was disappointing. The good news is those are mistakes we can correct and be better with. It wasn't like we got rolled. Our own side kind of hurt as a fair bit there, but that's just part of the journey with this new group, and finding our away again. We'll lick our wounds and come back Sunday," said Bentley.
 
"I felt like in the fourth set we got a little bit soft in the middle part. I thought we were in danger of that match slipping away in the fourth set and I thought were really fought back hard and put ourselves in a position to win the dang thing again, but we had to fight back a lot tonight. We put ourselves in holes pretty much every set. Serve receive was probably a big part of that. It hurt us."