| Bison Sports Launches New Site |
Bison Sports has moved to a new site! Please update your bookmarks. This site will continue to exist for information purposes only. No information after January 23, 2008 will be posted to this site. |
| Bisons complete sweep of Brandon University |
| January 19 - With temperatures outside in Winnipeg reaching freezing lows of minus-40, the Herd were too busy heating up the Investors Group Athletic Centre to notice. The #1 University of Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball team (13-1) defeated the Brandon University Bobcats (4-10)at the Investors Group Athletic Centre for their eighth consecutive conference win (25-11, 25-14, 25-14). The Bisons defeated the Bobcats on Friday night in straight sets for their 34th win of the season so it was easy to believe that such a dominating team may become complacent and lazy with the second match of a weekend series. Not so, as Manitoba put together perhaps their most impressive team performance of the season. “We played well and prepared for (Brandon) as we would for any team,” said 2ndyear left side Amy Sigfusson, who finished with 5 kills and 1 service ace. “We watched two DVD’s before the game and Coach (Ken Bentley) had the team focused.” The first set was one-sided as the home side executed their game plan excellently. Manitoba dominated the set as 5th year right side Amy Matthews and 2ndyear middle Ashley Voth were set-up often on the offensive rush. The Herd took the set 25-11, committing few errors and displaying offensive panache. The second set was more of the same for Manitoba, as the #1 team in the country seemed to put together five- point runs when they needed it most. With the score 12-9 and the Bobcats sensing a major momentum swing, 2nd year middle Ashley Voth and Katie Davidson combined for a stuff block that led to a 6 point Manitoba run. Some meticulous serving and dissimilar looking offensive looks confused the provincial rival Bobcats and the Bisons never looked back from that point in the match. The Herd never lost focus or control in the final frame as 2ndyear left side Amy Sigfusson, provided amazing outside attack shots and the defense made few, if any mistake. With the 25-14 third set win, the Bisons had their mind-boggling 35th overall win of the season, against one loss. Individually, the Bisons were led offensively by 2ndyear left side Sarah Morrissette (.478 hitting percentage, 11 kills), Erin Nieuwenburg (.583 hitting percentage, 8 kills, 4 service aces) and Ashley Voth(8 kills). Brandon was led by Teagan Hunter (8 kills on39 total attacks) and Erin Visch-Krahn (6 kills). Manitoba’s defense was led statistically by Voth (6 total blocks, 10 digs) and Sarah Morrissette (2 blocks, 9 digs) The Bisons will travel to Kamloops, British Columbia for their next two conference games to be played against Thompson Rivers University. The Brandon University Bobcats will return home to host the University of Saskatchewan Huskies on January 25th and 26th. |
| #1 Bisons defeat Brandon Bobcats at home |
| January 18 - First impressions are sometimes mixed and Friday night was no different as the#1-ranked University of Manitoba women’s volleyball team (11-1) defeated the Brandon University Bobcats (4-9) on Friday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre in the first meeting of a two-game series (25-22, 25-14, 25-20). Manitoba entered the game as the proud owner of the top ranking in the CIS with a dazzling overall record of 34-1. Manitoba has been ranked number one in the CIS Top 10 poll since the start of the 2007-08 season (nine polls). Manitoba has now won seven games in a row in conference play and 16 games overall. The meeting was the first of the season between the Herd and Bobcats. The Bisons have won 38 of 48 sets in conference action this season. The opening stanza started off tight as both teams looked to establish the early advantage. The Bobcats held tough early as front attackers Crystal Cornish and Teagan Hunter scored a few opportunistic points as the poised visitors looked strong. The Bisons held steady and broke away as 4th year Bisons standout Sabrina Barnes was very effective, finessing short and deep shots. The Bisons won the set 25-22. The Herd changed up the looks they were giving the Bobcats in the second set as the home squad led early, by as much as seven points. The Herd did a masterful job of executing the decoy attack. Manitoba spread the ball around tremendously as Amy Matthews, Erin Nieuwenburg and Samantha Loewen each had several excellent kills. The Bisons took the set 25-14, firmly in control. Christine Ewert displayed inspiring team leadership, digging the ball with style and setting up her teammates all over the court. “I was very happy with the first two sets, especially the second,” said Bisons head Ken Bentley. “Christine played awesome as she read the ball well and led our transition offense.” 2nd year Bison Sarah Morrisette showed why she was named Smitty’s player of the week earlier in the week, powering the Herd in the third set. The Bisons won the set 25-20, prolonging their impressive winning streak. Individually, the Bisons were led offensively by Amy Matthews (24 total attacks, 11 kills) , Sarah Morrissette (23 total attacks, 11 kills) and Samantha Loewen (35 assists). Sabrina Barnes led with 12 digs. The Bisons and Bobcats will square off again tomorrow night in the second game of the weekend series. The game starts at 6:00 p.m. local time at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. |
| #1 Bison Host Brandon |
| January 17 - The women’s volleyball team (11-1) hosts the Brandon Bobcats (4-8) on Friday, January 18 and Saturday, January 19. Both games played at Investors Group Athletic Centre (IGAC) starting at 6 p.m. Into the second half of the season, Manitoba has now registered a sparkling overall record of 34-1 while still holding the number one spot in the country. Manitoba has been ranked number one in the CIS Top 10 poll since the start of the 2007-08 season (nine polls). Overall this season, the Herd is 23-0 in five tournaments and four tourney titles (Lea Marc Volleyball Challenge did not have a tournament final) with an 11-1 conference record and has only suffered one loss this season (3-2 to #2 ranked UBC on Nov. 10). Manitoba is currently on a six game conference winning streak and 15 game overall winning streak. This will be the first meeting of the season between the Herd and Bobcats. Last season, Manitoba won the home weekend series by scores of 3-0 (Jan. 19/07) and 3-1 (Jan. 20/07). The Bisons have a six game winning streak over Brandon in conference play. Manitoba is tied for second place with UBC in the Canada West standings with 22 points. They are two points behind first place Calgary but have two games in hand. In conference action, the Bisons have won 35 sets and lost ten so far this season. In the Canada West season, the Bisons are third in hitting percentage with.237 and second in opponents hitting percentage at .119. The Herd is fifth in conference assists with 10.72 per game and fifth with 12.28 kills per game. Manitoba is second in total blocks per game with 2.62, third in service aces at 1.49 per game and fourth with 13.49 digs per game. Individually, Ashley Voth is fifth in conference hitting percentage at .330. Samantha Loewen is fifth with 8.88 conference assists per game. Erin Nieuwenburg is tied for sixth with 0.36 service aces. Sarah Morrissette is fifth with 3.02 digs per game in Canada West. In team stats, Morrissette leads the team with 106 kills, Amy Matthews is second with 105 kills and Voth is third at 97 kills. Loewen leads team with 38 overall blocks and Voth and Nieuwenburg second with 34 blocks. |
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