ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — The Winnipeg Wesmen staved off a major upset and managed to remain undefeated in Canada West play Friday night.

The Wesmen men's volleyball team rallied with a key fifth-set run and held off the winless Fraser Valley Cascades 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-19, 19-25, 15-10) in the team's first road match of the conference season.

The Wesmen improved to 5-0 with the back end of the weekend doubleheader to go Saturday night (6:45 p.m. CT / Canada West TV / Live Stats).

Isaiah Olfert once again led the Wesmen this time with 22 kills while hitting .319. Olfert has had the team-high in kills in all five matches and currently leads the Canada West in the category. He has hit .300 or better in each of his last four matches. 

After UFV (0-5) slowed the Wesmen down to .032 hitting in the fourth and forced a fifth set, the Cascades opened up a 6-4 lead in the decisive set. Winnipeg, however, tore off three straight points to take the lead and, after a Fraser Valley timeout and Cascades point, reeled off another three straight to take command at 10-7. UFV did manage to cut it to 12-10, but the Wesmen closed with another three-point run. 

Luke Lodewyks had a career-high 18 kills and hit a career-high .441 while adding eight digs for the Wesmen, the No. 3-ranked team in the latest U Sports poll. 

Liam Allen, a first-year member of the Wesmen who played two years of college baseball in the U.S. before returning to volleyball, saw his first significant action of the season and had five kills on seven swings and served up an ace on match point. 

The Cascades were led by Nimo Benne's 17 kills while Jonas Van Huizen added 15. 

Winnipeg hit .303 for the night including .615 attacking in the third set when the Wesmen mustered 17 kills and made only one attack error. It was the fourth straight match the Wesmen have hit .300 or better.

The Cascades hit .243 for the night and peaked in the second set when they hit .343 with 13 kills.