January 13 - The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s volleyball team defeated the #8-ranked Trinity Western Spartans on Sunday afternoon at the Investors Group Athletic Centre (25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22)to take both games on the weekend.

The win came one day after Manitoba defeated Trinity Western on Saturday 3-0 for their fourth conference victory in seven matches. The Bisons entered the game with eight points and playing some of their best volleyball of the season.

“These were two huge victories for our team,” said Bisons head coach Phil Hudson. “Joseph (Brooks) and Derek (Tyler) gave us amazing middle hitting and we really showed good patience when needed.”

The Bisons began the match firing on all cylinders as front court hitters Joseph Brooks and Drew Venables paced the home squad to an opening 25-22 set victory.

The second frame saw the Bisons John Galloway smash a spike off of a block to spark the Bisons comeback after the Spartans had been leading the set. The Bisons focused the majority of their offensive energy on a precision middle attack, as Derek Tyler and Joseph Brooks overwhelmed the Spartans with a cornucopia of shot making choices. The Bisons took the set 25-21 and were in the driver’s seat.

The Herd continued their impressive play in the third set as they were able to find creative ways to score points. Scoring points off of seemingly broken plays, including one in which Derek Tyler made an incredible dig which lead to a Bisons point. The Spartans stormed back however led by attackers Steve Rogalsky and Marc Howatson. The energized Spartans took the set 25-21 and had the momentum back in their favour.

The fourth set was back-and-forth as each squad took turns enjoying the lead. Middle Joseph Brooks combined to stuff a Spartans attack and Captain Drew Venables served up an ace as the Bisons took a late three-point lead. The game ended on a Spartan unforced error as Manitoba won the frame 25-22.

Individually, the Bisons were led by John Galloway (14 kills) and Stefan Bouw (29 total attacks, 11 kills) on offense while Spencer Hoehn (13 digs) and Derek Tyler (5 blocked shots) excelled defensively. The Spartans top players were Steve Rogalsky who had a remarkable 29 kills and Marc Howatson who had 22 total attacks, including 9 kills.

The Manitoba Bisons get ready to host their provincial neighbors next as the Brandon University Bobcats come to the Investors Group Athletic Centre for a weekend set on January 18th and 19th. Both games start at 8:00 p.m. local time.

Next up for the Trinity Western University Spartans is a weekend series at home against the University of Regina on January 18th and 19th. Both games are schedule for 8:00.

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