Story by Sheri Lamb

It wasn't easy, but the Winnipeg Wesmen did what was expected and defeated a scrappy Regina Cougars team in Canada West men's volleyball action Friday night at the Duckworth Centre.

The straight sets victory, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-18) keeps the Wesmen (10-5) secure in a playoff spot, while the Cougars (1-14) dropped their 14th straight match of the season.

Dave Bommersbach had 12 kills, 27 attacks and nine digs for the Wesmen in the win.

"They're a scrappy team with lots of digs, we shouldn't be surprised by that, but they were digging some balls I was pretty impressed with," said the third-year outside hitter. "We started off in each set making too many errors and we weren't playing very well but as the game went on we picked it up and finished well in all the sets."

The Cougars gave the CIS sixth-ranked Wesmen everything they could handle in the opening set before Winnipeg prevailed 25-22. Regina started strong and surprised the Wesmen in taking a 7-3 lead, but the home team was unfazed as they chipped away at the deficit and eventually gained the advantage. Fifth-year setter Josh McKay led the Wesmen in the first set with six digs and 12 assists, while Bommersbach had seven kills and fourth-year outside hitter Brendan Thielmann had five kills. Andre Borgeaud had five kills for the Cougars in the opening set.

In the second set, the Wesmen appeared to take control of the match early building a 7-2 lead, but the Cougars continued to show they wouldn't go down without a fight eventually taking a 19-18 lead over Winnipeg. The Wesmen rebounded to take the set 25-20 after the Cougars made several errors in their attempt to hold onto the lead. After two sets Bommersbach had eight kills and six digs for the Wesmen, while the Cougars Brennan Goski had five kills and four digs.

After the Cougars earned the first three points in the third set, the Wesmen took over and showed why they're considered a CIS favourite, cruising to a 25-18. Bommersbach had the final kill to end any hope of a Cougar comeback on the fourth match point.

McKay finished the game with one kill, 23 assists and 11 digs for the Wesmen, while Taylor Howe had four kills and 13 attacks and Thielmann had 10 kills, 21 attacks and five digs.

Wesmen coach Larry McKay didn't mince words in explaining why his team had such a hard time in completing the sweep.

"We got beat and they were better than us at the start of each set, especially with their block I thought they stopped our attack well early in the sets," said McKay.

The Wesmen and Cougars face off again Saturday (3:30 p.m. CST) at the Duckworth Centre in Canada West men's volleyball action