The Men's Volleyball Team played well throughout the year, however when it came time to play against the University of Winnipeg, in the GPAC Finals, they ran into a very determined team. The result was disappointing loss to the Wesmen in the GPAC Final.

The team then had to wait several days to see if they would be allowed to play in the National Championship as a Wildcard Team. Three days before the National Championship, the team was informed that they would be going to the National's as a Wildcard Team.

In the first round of the National Championship the team defeated the University of Calgary, then went on to defeat Dalhousie University in the semi-finals. Now the match up was Manitoba against Saskatchewan for the National Championship. It was a great final match with the Bisons winning the National Championship. This had to be the success story of the year for Bison Sports. The players worked very hard to achieve their goal and with the loss of only one or two players next year they will be back.

Congratulations to Head Coach Jim Schreyer and his coaching staff for a job well done. Steve Brinkman was named the MVP for the Championship and Bryan Enns was selected as a Second Team All Canadian.

March 4, 1999

Championship Team!! Click for larger image

In an exciting final match Sunday afternoon, the Bisons took the Saskatchewan Huskies to 4 sets and came away with the Gold Medal. Game scores were 21 - 25, 25 - 18, 25 - 18, 32 - 30.

Set 1 Manitoba lets an early 10-5 lead slip away and Saskatchewan comes back to 9-10, with the Huskies taking the lead at 14-13. The defending champs would not waste such an opportunity and never looked back. Saskatchewan takes the opener 25-21.

Set 2 Not at all discouraged, the Bisons jump to leads of 7-2, 14-7 and 20-13, taking the second set 25-18.

Set 3 The scenario is the same in the third set. 13-8 Manitoba, 21-15, and finally 25-18. Could this be the end of the line for the defending champs?

Set 4 It looked that way nearing the end of the fourth, with the Bisons leading 20-16 and 22-20. But a crucial ace by the Huskies made it 21-22, a big block tied it and there was new life for Saskatchewan. The remainder of the set was wild and offered one of the best CIAU volleyball shows in recent memory. The Bisons saved set points at 24-23, 26-25, 27-26. Meanwhile, the Huskies did the same at 28-27, 29-28 and 30-29. Finally though, at 31-30 Bisons, Bryan Enns cashed in with the winning block and the Bisons were 2000 CIAU Champions!

Players of the Game
Manitoba: Steve Brinkman
Saskatchewan: Aaron Canfield

Statistical Leaders
Manitoba: Bryan Enns - 21 kills, 4 digs and 4 blocks
Saskatchewan: Mark Zacharias - 17 kills and 5 blocks

Thanks to Adrian Bradbury, CIAU Statistics Coordinator for this great report!