by  Ezra Ginsburg

February 22- The #1-ranked University of Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball team had home court advantage but the #5-ranked University of Alberta Pandas brought the spoiler's mentality, advancing to the gold medal match at the Canada West Final Four conference championships in Winnipeg (25-23, 25-22, 16-25, 25-22).

The Bisons, hosting the Canada West conference championships for the second time in team history, were looking to avenge last years conference final loss to defending CIS champion Alberta, but were simply unable to overcome an early two-set deficit. 

“We played hard tonight and are thrilled with the victory,” said Pandas head coach Laurie Eisler. “We were extremely happy with the first two sets and our ability to execute after 16 (points).  The Bisons are a great team and we wanted to get them out of their system early on and that was the key for us.”

Alberta took the opening set 25-23, as they executed their pre-game strategy to a tee. Fourth year outside hitter Jocelyn Blair (12 kills) and 3^rd year middle Alexa Berton (8 kills) were especially effective at the front court as the Bison’s defense had a nightmare defending an explosive Alberta attack.  Manitoba went on a nice five point run after they fell behind midway through the set but struggled late, as Alberta continued to find the open spots on the floor.

The Bisons started out much better in the second set, as they were much more aggressive on the offensive attack and made fewer unforced errors.  Led by Ashley Voth and Sarah Morrisette, the Bisons worked out some kinks from the first set but were again dominated in the late stages of the set.  Alberta continued to pound away on the outside, as Tiffany Proudfoot and Kaylan Berg were particularly impressive, powering Alberta to a 25-22 set win.

The Bisons, finding themselves in a must-win situation in the third set, showed why they are the #1 ranked team in the country.  Manitoba excelled in all aspects of the game, as they earned points off the serve as well as the block and swung the momentum back in their favour with a dominating 25-16 victory.  Amy Matthews (12 kills) and Ashley Voth (11 kills) each had many extraordinary shots for the Bisons.

The Pandas were just too much in the fourth set as impressive individual efforts by Daryll Roper and Proudfoot highlighted a poised team effort.  Alberta rallied from a late two point deficit to cap the match off with a three point set and match victory.

Alberta will meet the winner of the UBC/Calgary match in the gold medal game tomorrow night at 8 p.m. at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.  Manitoba will play in the bronze medal match tomorrow at 6 p.m.  Three out of the four teams in the tournament will receive a berth to the 2008 CIS National Championships in Fredericton, New Brunswick.