March 5 - The Alberta Golden Bears and Trinity Western Spartans will meet in the 2005 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s volleyball gold medal game.

The top-seeded Golden Bears swept the No. 4 Manitoba Bisons in three sets of 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 in Saturday night’s second semi-final to advance to the national final for the fourth straight year.

Alberta lost a thrilling five-setter to Saskatchewan in the 2004 championship game, dropping a 16-14 decision in the final set. The Bears were swept 3-0 by Manitoba in 2003, one year after claiming the third men’s volleyball title in school history with a 3-2 win over Winnipeg.

Alberta and Trinity Western, the top two teams in the country from the start of the season, will meet Sunday at 4:30 EST for CIS gold (live on TSN).

The Bears entered tonight’s contest with a 3-0 record this year against conference rival Manitoba in regular season and post-season play, including a straight-set win in the Canada West semi-final round.

Reigning CIS player of the year Nicholas Cundy, a fourth-year outside hitter from Edmonton, led the Bears on the night with 10 kills. He also had nine digs and two service aces.

Team co-captain Aaron Schulha, a fifth-year power hitter from Edmonton, was a perfect 8-of-8 on kill attempts, while libero Justin Wong, also from Alberta’s capital, led the defensive effort with 13 digs.

The Bisons were points away from taking the first set after building a 22-19 lead but saw the Bears score six of the last seven to take a 1-0 lead. Manitoba couldn’t recover and was never in the game in the remaining two frames.

Third-year right-side hitter Matt Balchin of Victoria led all players in the game with 14 kills for Manitoba.

Stat leaders

Alberta
Kills: Nicholas Cundy (10)
Blocks: Adam Kaminski (6)
Digs: Justin Wong (13)
Assists: Brock Davidiuk (27)

Manitoba
Kills: Matt Balchin (14)
Blocks: Sean Jones (2)
Digs: Toon van Lankvelt (10)
Assists: Kyle Joslin (22)

Friday, March 4

• 12 pm York 1 vs. Trinity Western 3
• 2 pm Montréal 0 vs. Saskatchewan 3
• 5 pm Manitoba 3 vs. Dalhousie 2
• 7 pm Laval 0 vs. Alberta 3

Saturday, March 5

• Consolation #1 : Montreal 3, York 1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-11, 25-22)
• Consolation #2: Laval 3, Dalhousie 0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-21)
• Semi-final #1: Trinity Western 3, Saskatchewan 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-12)
• Semi-final #2: Alberta 3, Manitoba 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16)

Sunday, March 6

• 10:00 am 5th Place Game - Laval vs Montreal
• 12:00 pm Bronze Medal Game - Manitoba vs Saskatchewan
• 3:30 pm Gold Medal Game - Trinity Western vs Alberta (live TSN)