February 17 - The sixth-ranked Manitoba Bisons outlasted third-ranked UBC 3-2 Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gym to extend their Canada West quarterfinal series to a third and deciding match Sunday at 1 p.m. (20-25, 27-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-8).

The winner will advance to the final four in Edmonton next weekend and also earn a berth into the CIS championship tournament, March 2-4 at McMaster University in Hamilton.

After UBC had extended the match to a fifth set with a dominant performance in the fourth, the Bisons recaptured momentum with a 7-4 lead in the final frame and only let the T-Birds pull to within two points on one occasion.

It could have been a much different story had it not been for some clutch play from the veteran Bisons -- and some UBC slip-ups -- in the second and third sets. Manitoba fought off two set points in the second, one off a UBC serving error, that would have likely seen them likely buried at 2-0 down. Left side Josh Klassen pulled the visitors even at 25-all, then capped the second set on a tape-aided ace.

In the third, Manitoba pulled away at 16-all, winning three of the next four points including a kill and a block from middle Jeff Zylstra. The T-Birds got within one point at 24-23 but another Klassen kill gave the Bisons a 2-1 sets lead.

“We battled back to get the advantage in the second but they made more plays than us in the clutch,” said UBC head coach Richard Schick, who is trying to guide the T-Birds to their first nationals berth since 1989. “I think in general we had slow starts today. They came out loud and aggressive and we didn’t respond as well as we needed to. They had guys step up today, their power hitters played well, and we’ve got to come out ready to put pressure on them tomorrow. It’s as simple as that.”

Klassen, who committed more errors (6) that he had kills (5) on Thursday, finished with a match-high 24 kills and hit for .500, while Toon van Lankvelt (14) and Nathan Towes (13) were also in double figures. van Lankvelt added 14 digs and was in on the match-winning block for Manitoba, who looked far more interested and determined than they did on Thursday.

Andrew Bonner paced UBC with 23 kills and hit .450, while Christoph Eichbaum added 15 kills and Matt LeBourdais 11 from the middle. Eichbaum was also their dig leader with eight. The Bisons outblocked UBC 10-7.5 and picked up 44 digs to 33 for the T-Birds. The teams also combined for 33 service errors.

“We gave it everything had today,” said Manitoba head coach Garth Pischke. “We squeaked out a win against a very good team, and if we don’t bring everything we have again tomorrow then we don’t have a chance. Our backs were against the wall and we got a big win. Tomorrow, everybody is in the same situation.”

The Bisons have qualified for 25 of the last 26 CIS national championship tournaments and are the reigning national bronze medallists.

Elsewhere around the conference, Trinity Western completed its sweep of Saskatchewan Friday night and earned a berth into the final four and the nationals, while Thompson Rivers upset second-seeded Winnipeg on Friday before the Wesmen tied the series in Game 2 today.

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