WINNIPEG – Multiple true freshman made their debut in the Bisons starting lineup on Saturday, as the Herd flexed their depth in a 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21) win over Calgary. Manitoba improved to 2-1, while Calgary fell to 1-2.
 
A lower body injury forced starting setter Elia Falcone out of the lineup, while veteran hitter Andi Almonte was a game time decision but was unable to play. In their absence, rookies Julia Martens and Lucy Jurgensen stepped in, and stepped up. Martens had 41 assists, an ace, four kills and ten digs, while Jurgensen recorded two kills, an ace, four digs and three total blocks. Raya Surinx led the Bisons attack with 18 kills and just two errors, while the Herd hit .436 overall.
 
Calgary recorded 14 aces in the match, while Sophia Hansen had 12 kills in the loss.
 
"That's one of the things over the last few years that this team has illustrated. People step into their job, and they do a great job with it," noted Bisons head coach Ken Bentley on Manitoba's depth.
 
"No one blinked an eye. I was really proud of that. It's not that often you have a game-time decision, and I thought we responded really well."
 
Efficiency was a key story in set one. Calgary hit .250 and had 13 kills, paced by Hansen, as the visitors took a 15-14 lead, but as the set went along, the Bisons were the cleaner team.
 
Manitoba hit .444 overall, paced by seven kills on eight attacks from Surinx, while Martens dished out 12 assists, finding four different players while also recording a kill. The hosts went on a 3-0 run to take a 17-15 lead and didn't trail the rest of the way.
 
Martens found Surinx for her fourth kill, and she powered the Bisons from the line for the next two points. An over bump went right to Martens, who found middle Eve Catojo for a no doubter, and Surinx added an ace right after.
 
Calgary had seven aces in the second, paced by three in the third from Hansen in a four-point set win.
 
A kill from the left, followed by back-to-back aces from Hansen helped the Dinos full ahead 11-9, and they didn't trail for the remainder of the set.
 
Ella Gray, Martens and Surinx all had big kills in key moments, with Gray and Surinx combining for 19 kills and just three errors through two. Meanwhile, Martens had two kills – including a dart into the back line – but serve-receive told the story for the visitors, who remained in the lead thanks to their play from the line.
 
The Bisons had no errors in set three, as Martens got everyone involved in a well-balanced attack.
 
Middle Brenna Bedosky subbed into the game and was notable with four kills on six attacks, while Jurgensen had a key kill from the right, and Martens got it to libero Chelsea Siebenga for a free ball kill to end the third. At the net, Catojo had five total blocks, more than the entire Dinos roster combined, with four.  
 
Kaly Komore paced Calgary with five kills in the set, but the Dinos had seven errors and hit just .117, unable to match the efficiency of the hosts.
 
"[Martens] has been great in practice, and she's a total gamer. I had complete confidence in her. It was a big deal, her first start with a really good team. The setter feels that responsibility to be good for her team. She did a really good job," said Bentley of the 2024 Volleyball Manitoba Player of the Year, and daughter of Bisons men's volleyball national champion Jules.
 
"She was courageous on second balls, wasn't afraid to pull the trigger, and I've given her license to do that. She's really consistent. If you see it, take a chew. I thought she did a really good job. [Jurgensen] played a fair bit in the pre-season, but to start in league for the first time, it still is a big moment for any first-year kid. I thought she had great poise and was big at the net and got some huge blocks, defended and passed well."
 
Gray, Bedosky and Martens all had aces in set four, as Manitoba opened up a 17-11 lead. Setter Anya Fehr had multiple tricky kills on dump plays into the pot, as the Dinos got back to within two, but the balance of the Bisons attack, which hit .292 compared to -.032 proved to be the difference. Bedosky ended the game with a kill for the 3-1 win.
 
Both teams play again tomorrow at 6 pm.