Saturday, October 31

WESMEN def UBC Okanagan 3-2 (8-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-11)

The University of Winnipeg Wesmen Women's Volleyball picked up their first win of the regular season in impressive fashion. Winnipeg came back from a 0-2 deficit to beat the No.1 ranked UBC-Okanagan Heat 3-2 (8-25, 15-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-11) Saturday afternoon in Kelowna, BC.

Match Statistics

Winnipeg returns home with a 1-5 record. The Heat drop to 5-1.

"We turned a corner today. Hanging in there and not giving up changed the momentum in our favor and with each point the team gained confidence. We played as a team, played with grit and came away with a nice win. We are very happy to gain a split in Kelowna, said Wesmen head coach Diane Scott.

Fourth year outside hitter Ozana Nikiloc led the Wesmen with a match high 22 kills and was stellar on defense with 13 digs. Tia Boroski finished with seven kills and 14 digs. Mackenzie Jeffrey aided in the Wesmen win with nine kills and four digs.

Brianna Beamish led the Heat's offense with 15 kills and 13 digs giving her a double double. Kaitlynn Given finished nine kills and seven digs. Kailin Jones finished the match with a high of 25 digs.

The Heat took the first two sets handily (25-8, 25-15), before Winnipeg turned the match around.

In the third, the Wesmen found their offense. Quickly in the third the Wesmen jumped out to a 7-2 edge against the Heat. UBC Okanagan rallied against this quick attack, with a five point scoring streak. After that point the score was not separated by more than three points until the Wesmen put away the set (25-23) with a kill by Karissa Kuhr.

The fourth set was up for either team to take as the Heat and Wesmen battled to take the lead, and remained with a two point differential for the duration of the set. UBC Okanagan not wanting to go to a fifth set and Winnipeg desperate for a win and a fifth set made for an exciting fourth, the set was filled with exciting rallies and big kills from both sides of the net. The Heat were able to capture a three point lead with Katie Wuttunee serving an ace putting (21-18) and looked to have the match in hand. The Wesmen put on their zombie costume and rose again. Winnipeg pushed back at this lead with three major kills and a UBCO error to tie the game at 22-22. Winnipeg took advantage of the staggering UBC Okanagan team and grabbed three of the next four points to send the match to a fifth.

The deciding set started with a three point scoring streak by the Kelowna squad, as they appeared to have regained their form. A Wesmen timeout rallied the visitors and they immediately span for a six point scoring streak. With the lead in hand Winnipeg never really were threatened again, they closed the match out on a kill by Mackenzie Jeffrey finished the set 15-11 for Winnipeg.

After being on the road for the past two weeks, Winnipeg will return to their home court to face the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack next Friday and Saturday.

Friday, October 30  - 

UBC Okanagan def WESMEN 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 28-26)

The UBC Okanagan Heat came out on top with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 28-26)  victory over the Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday night at the UBC Okanagan Gymnasium in Kelowna, BC.

Match Boxscore

The Heat improve their record to 5-0 while the Wesmen fall to 0-5.

It was a strong defensive performance powering the UBC Okanagan to their fifth straight win to open their conference season. The Heat were able to hold one of the leading hitters in Canada West, Ozana Nikolic, to a season low 11 kills, tops for Winnipeg on the night. Winnipeg, as a team, hit just (.043) and UBC Okanagan forced 23 errors on the Wesmen side. The Heat in comparison hit .287 and was led by Brianna Beamish with 13 kills.

For both teams the first set started off slow with defensive errors on both sides putting the Heat and Wesmen neck and neck for a majority of the game, scores knotted early at 3-3, and 8-8. The Heat were sneak in a four point streak which was enough to boost them into the lead late in the game.Taking advantage of the Wesmen mistakes the Heat took the first by a score of 25-16.

The second set started with two kills by Beamish and Kaitlynn Given, who finished with nine kills and seven digs on the night. The Wesmen finding rhythm early in the second, just after the quick UBCO start, went point for point with the Heat until the score was (20-20) . Kills by Beamish, Given, and Megan Festival closed the game off with kills for the Kelowna squad giving them a 25-20 win.

After Nikolic, it was Tia Boroski with six kills for Winnipeg, setter, Jayme Menzies had 24 assists, three blocks,and three service aces.

The third and final set was a point for point battle as both teams found their rhythm. The Wesmen led for the first half of the set taking a six point lead away from the Heat. However, a series of massive kills from Brianna Beamish and errors from the Wesmen led to a six point scoring streak for the Heat which helped them reclaim the lead late into the set. Both teams alternated scoring last 12 points of the match. The Heat claimed the win with Katie Wuttunee finishing the set with a kill and a 28-26 win for the Heat.