With a chance to make a statement in the Canada West standings, the Winnipeg Wesmen wasted little time doing it. 

Emma Parker led all Wesmen with 12 kills, and Taylor Cangemi had a match-high 11 digs as the Wesmen women's volleyball team dominated the UBC-Okanagan Heat in a 3-0 (29-27, 25-21, 25-20) conference victory Friday at the Duckworth Centre. 

Opening the two-night weekend series with a win was no small thing: The Wesmen improved to 5-4, dropped UBCO's record to 5-4 and in the process created a five-way tie for fifth place in the conference. 

Ashleigh Laube hit .346 with nine kills and no errors on 26 swings, the second time this season she's hit over .300 in a match. She also had six digs and an ace. 

The Wesmen trailed 16-12 in the first set but went on a four-point run to even things before the teams played side-out volleyball until the Heat took leads of 23-21 and 24-22. Winnipeg, however, was gifted a Hellen Luvizetti Lac service error, and Taylor Kleysen followed with a kill on the next sequence to force extra points. The Wesmen finished it out with a Parker kill followed by a Parker ace, and UBCO rarely threatened the rest of the night. 

In Set 2, the Wesmen fell behind by four before the teams hit the 10-point mark, but the home side handled that deficit. Tied 14-14, the Wesmen scored four straight and the Heat could not get closer than three the rest of the way. 

The Wesmen hit a season-high .244 on the night, with just 10 errors on 86 swings. They recorded 37 digs and six total blocks (two solo, eight assisted). 

Sydney Grills had a match-high 15 kills, plus five aces and six digs for the Heat, who hit .208 for the match. Madelyn Hettinga added nine kills on 13 swings with no errors (.692). 

The two teams will meet again Saturday at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are available online at wesmen.ca/tickets.