The Winnipeg
Wesmen opened the
Wesmen Classic with two dominant performances and sit atop their pool as the playoffs loom.
The
Wesmen women's volleyball team cruised to three-set sweeps over the CMU Blazers and Ottawa Gee-Gees Sunday as the 58th Classic kicked off with pool play at the Duckworth
Centre.
The 2-0 start put the
Wesmen firmly in first place heading into their final pool match against Brandon (Noon, Monday), with a chance to sew up first place with a win over the
winless Bobcats.
In their second match of the day, the
Wesmen were dominant over their rivals from the OUA, holding the Gee-Gees to .000 attacking in the first set while hitting .305 for the match.
Winnipeg def. Ottawa (25-12, 25-22, 25-22)
Brooke Duncalfe had a match-high 14 kills and team-high six digs, and
Emily Lavallee had seven kills on 13 swings for a match-high .462.
Duncalfe, along with
Grace Vallis and
Taylor Labossiere, also had two aces.
Jessica Schmid, Lea Pendergast and Camryn Giddens each had six kills for Ottawa, which stands third in the OUA standings after the first half of conference play.
Winnipeg def. CMU (25-10, 25-13, 25-12)
Megan Kendziora led Winnipeg with nine kills on 16 swings, committing just one error for a .500 hitting percentage. Werbiski added eight kills, three aces and two block assists, while
Anna Filippin-Buller chipped in eight kills and two aces.
Grace Vallis recorded five kills and contributed defensively with two block assists.
Taylor Cangemi had a match-high seven digs and the Wesmen hit .389 as a team.
CMU will face Ottawa at noon on Monday with the winner advancing to the championship side of the draw.
Other matches
The Manitoba Bisons lead in Pool B after wins over MacEwan and Acadia. The Griffins took the first set off U of M in the late match, but the Bisons dominated from there on out with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 25-16, 25-16) win to earn a berth into one of the championship semis. Meanwhile, the Lakehead Thunderwolves fought off the Axewomen in the 8 p.m. West Court match to win 3-2 (25-20, 25-20, 17-25, 23-25, 15-7) and push their record to 2-0 heading into a Monday afternoon match with the Bisons. Both teams have officially qualified for the championship semifinal while Acadia and MacEwan will battle to see who finishes third in Pool B.
