November 24 - Fresh off their 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) win over the Calgary Dinos (6-2) Friday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre, The Bisons (9-1) were in search of their fourth straight victory in the rematch of this weekend series on Saturday.

It was all Bisons as they easily defeated the Dinos in three sets (25-22, 25-22, 25-13) to remain tops in the CIS Western Conference.

“I thought they played better tonight,” said Bison head coach, Ken Bentley. “I was pleased that we were prepared for a tougher team.”

The game started going back and forth between the two sides in much the same way as their previous contest the night before. Points were traded until the Bisons gained control of the net, and then began to pad their lead. Manitoba took the set 25-22.

Sam Loewen found the back corner for the Bisons to start the next set. At the first technical timeout, the Bisons held a three-point, 8-5 lead. The Dinos were trying hard to gets points on the board, but couldn’t put anything past the Bison front line. Late in the set, the Dinos were able to claw back into the game, but couldn’t even the score as the Herd took the second set 25-22.

Calgary took the lead early in the third set to the surprise of everyone on the Bison bench. With a five-point lead in favor of the Dinos, The Bisons began to mount an all-important comeback. Loewen’s great play at the net continued throughout the set, as she single-handedly organized the Bison attack. At the second technical, the Bisons had regained a 16-12 lead. From there the Bisons went on a 9-1 run to finish of the set, 25-13, and the game in three sets.

The Dinos’ Melanie Miazga led all players will 11 kills, while top Bison honours went to Ashley Voth who had 10 kills for the Herd.

“Overall, we’ve been pretty consistent,” said Bentley, reflecting on the season so far. “I think this team can still get better, and there are still plenty of good teams to beat.”

“The second half of the season will be more intense, and I think the big thing is we’re not getting too excited about our first half performance. This team has a good understanding of the length of the year,” said Bentley.

This is the last CIS action the Bisons will see in 2007. At the end of December they will head down to Tampa Bay for the Cay Club International exhibition tournament.

The Herd will continue their regular season campaign on January 12 and 13, 2008 when Trinity Western visits the Investors Group Athletic Centre. Both games start at 1 p.m.

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