The Winnipeg Wesmen pushed the defending national champions to the brink Sunday afternoon.
 
The Wesmen women's volleyball team had a chance to close out the UBC Thunderbirds but eventually dropped a 3-2 (19-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 15-12) Canada West conference decision at the Duckworth Centre.
 
The Wesmen fell to 0-2 while the Thunderbirds earned a season-opening sweep of the weekend. 
 
With a 2-1 lead in sets, the Wesmen were held to their lowest attacking percentage of the day in the fourth as the T-Birds rallied to force a fifth. Winnipeg hit -.034 in the fourth and made eight errors against seven kills. 
 
The Wesmen were able to build an early three-point lead in the fifth at 9-6, but UBC won four straight to take the lead back. Winnipeg won back-to-back points to once again surge ahead, but UBC won five of the final six points to close the match out.
 
Jaya Dzikowicz had a match-high 15 kills to pace the Wesmen, who also got 10 kills and 13 digs from Selva Planincic. Ella Werbiski had a career-high 14 digs to lead the Wesmen defensively. 
 
Lucy Borowski's 14 kills led the T-Birds, while Akash Grewal added 10 along with a match-high eight aces.
 
Olivia Furlan topped UBC with 12 digs and Trinity Solecki had 11.