DAVID LARKINS, Wesmen Athletics
The Winnipeg Wesmen went to extra points in the first two sets, but eventually fell in straight sets to the Manitoba Bisons Wednesday night at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.
The Wesmen men's volleyball team fought off multiple set points in Sets 1 and 2 but ultimately couldn't finish things themselves and dropped a 3-0 (28-26, 31-29, 25-18) decision in the men's volleyball portion of the Duckworth Challenge.
The result gave the Bisons their first Duckworth Challenge title since 2016-17 as they took a 3-1 lead in the annual cumulative showdown between the basketball, soccer and volleyball teams from both schools.
An error-filled match doomed the Wesmen, who fell to 5-4 on the season and into a tie with the Bisons atop the East Division. The two teams meet again Saturday at the Duckworth Centre.
The Wesmen committed a season-high 22 service errors — seven in the first set alone — and had 23 attack errors on 98 swings on the match.
Nigel Nielsen matched a career-high hitting .478 with 15 kills on 23 swings. Daniel Thiessen added 11 kills.
Darian Picklyk had a match-high 14 digs for the Wesmen, who amassed 39 as a team — a season-high for a three-set loss. Setter Michael Corrigan added 10 digs and 24 assists.
The Bisons were led by Ben Carleton's 11 kills. They hit .267 for the match to Winnipeg's .214.
The Bisons also made seven serve errors in the first set, but made only eight over the final two sets.
The two teams will meet at the Duckworth Centre at 7 p.m.
No fans will be permitted in attendance, but the match can be viewed on CanadaWest.TV brought to you by Co-Op.
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