The University of Winnipeg Wesmen kicked off their 2016-2017 regular season on  the right foot. Winnipeg defeated the MacEwan University Griffins 3-0 (25-21, 32-30, 26-24) Friday evening at the Dr. David F. Anderson Gymnasium in Winnipeg.

Fourth year outside Taylor Howe led the Wesmen attack with 13 kills. Fifth year outside Brendan Thielmann added 11 kills and five digs. First year outside Ethan Duncan had 10 kills. Mikael Clegg finished the match with 37 assists and three blocks.

Shane Kerrison led the Griffins with a match high 14 kills. Kai Hesthammer added 10 kills. Max Vriend finished with eight kills and seven blocks.

The opening saw the Wesmen jump out to an early lead only to see the Griffins fight back. Winnipeg went on to win the opening set by a score of 25-21. The score was tied a total of six times in the first set.

Set number two was a classic battle between Canada West opponents. Both teams exchanged points for the better portion of the entire set. After the score was tied a total of 24 times and nine different lead changes, the Wesmen prevailed winning the set 32-30.

The third set was a carbon copy of the middle set with both teams battling thru 21 tie scores and nine lead changes. Winnipeg went on a late run to force extra points and closed out the match with a 26-24 win in the third and final set.

The two teams will battle in the early match on Saturday. Start time is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.