November 30 - The University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball team picked up their game after a first set scare and went on to a straight sets (26-24, 25-13 and 25-21) victory over the Manitoba Bisons Friday night in the U of A's Main Gym.

Manitoba, now 3-6 on the season, came out hard in the opening set, picking up early leads of 8-4 and 12-8 on the #1 ranked Bears and managed to stay ahead until the second technical time-out. The Bisons were slightly more efficient in their attack game, they committed fewer errors and gained momentum with every point earned against the 2006 CIS silver medalists. It was Alberta, however, that won out when they rallied from 16-14 to take the next three points and eventually win the set 26-24.

In the second set Terry Danyluk's squad got their game together and pulled off a big victory of 25-13. Four players, Brock Pehar, Joel Schmuland, Justin Merta and Tim Gourlay, spun aces on the Bisons, while the team attacked with a 61% efficiency rating.
The third set saw the Bears jump out to a decent lead, thanks to strong serving and an offence that made their opportunities count. Although Manitoba countered with a pair of aces from Joseph Brooks and Ryan Munt, they were forced to play catch-up and Alberta was able to stay two-three points ahead for the majority of play, winning 25-21.

Alberta was led by Joel Schmuland, who sits fourth in the Conference with 120 kills on the season (4.14 per set), as he racked up another 14. Gourlay finished with 12. Schmuland also led in digs, bringing up nine Bison attacks, while Pehar floated 34 assists and put down three kills.

John Galloway of the Bisons led all players on the floor with 17 kills, while Stephen Bouw chipped in with seven. Galloway, who is 10th in the Canada West in kills, tied for the team lead in digs with setter Drew Venables, each bringing up seven.

Alberta's win improves their Canada West record to 8-1 and 17-2 overall. The two teams will meet again on the Main Gym floor Saturday night at 7:00 pm MST.

Complete statistics...