Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Bisons men's volleyball team advances to national championship

Wesmen women head to Canada West Final Four

By: Ashley Prest

Posted: 02/17/2012 9:38 PM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Manitoba coach Garth Pischke is "a little choked up right now." (BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES)

The University of Manitoba Bisons men’s volleyball team earned a berth at the national championship for the first time since 2005-2006 on Friday night at the U of M Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Manitoba defeated the UBC-Okanagan Heat 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 to win the best-of-three Canada West conference quarter-final series 2-0. Manitoba now heads to the Canada West Final Four on Feb. 25-26 at Trinity Western University.

However, since there are four Canada West berths at the men's nationals this year, the Bisons qualified for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport championship March 2-4 at Queen’s University. It's the first time since 2005-2006 the Bisons have qualified for nationals.

Bisons men’s head coach Garth Pischke will now take a U of M team to the national championship for the 26th time in his 31 years at the Bisons helm.

"I’m going to stick with these guys, I’m a little choked up right now because it means a lot to get back there (to nationals), we’ve been away for a few years," said Garth Pischke, who will be looking for a 23rd medal at nationals. "This team has played well all year, I have the utmost confidence in them. I’m really looking forward to the next level because I really believe that our best match wins this whole thing. It’s going take everybody and everything. But that’s what it’s about, you play your best and you’ve got a shot at it."

The Bisons (18-2), who finished the regular season ranked No. 2 in Canada, were led by Dane Pischke and Chris Voth with 10 kills each while Joseph Brooks (nine kills) and Carson Kauenhowen (six kills, two service aces) dominated the middle attack .

At the University of Winnipeg Duckworth Centre, the Winnipeg Wesmen women’s volleyball team defeated the Manitoba Bisons 25-18, 25-17, 25-22 to win that best-of-three quarter-final series 2-0. Lauren Sears led the Wesmen with 14 kills and the fifth-year captain will now lead her team to the Canada West Final Four on Feb. 24-25 at UBC.

"The weight of the whole world was off our shoulders tonight, we knew Manitoba would come out tough but we played more like the way our team has been playing this season," said Wesmen coach Diane Scott, whose team finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the country with a 14-6 record. "I’m very happy we played so well. We played very disciplined defensively, we had big digs, key blocks."

Three teams from the women’s Final Four will qualify for the CIS national championship.

At the Max Bell Arena, the Bisons men’s hockey team beat the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1. The two teams close out the regular season tonight at 7 p.m. Manitoba is looking to finish first in the conference for the first time since 1970-71.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Latest News

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.