Bisons double down

The Winnipeg Wesmen and Manitoba Bisons entered Friday night at different places in the standings, with the former battling to keep its playoff hopes alive and the latter looking to continue trending toward another bid at a national championship.

While there were early signs that the Wesmen might overcome the apparent mismatch and put up a strong fight against their crosstown rival, the Bisons proved to be too much as they overwhelmed in a 3-0 (25-23; 25-13; 25-16) triumph at Duckworth Centre.

Two-time reigning U Sports player of the year Raya Surinx led the charge in a 13-kill performance that was teed up by 32 assists from first-year setter Julia Martens. Eve Catojo supplied eight kills, while Ella Gray and Brenna Bedosky added seven each.

“(Head coach) Ken (Bentley) told us before the game, ‘You kind of just got to shake the tree, and when everything falls away, it’s just the game.’ This is just another game for our league. So that’s how I went at it,” Libero Chelsea Siebenga said of the annual home-and-home series between the two programs.

“Yes, it’s a rivalry game, but I went into it knowing we were gonna win and just wanting to win every point.”

Megan Kendziora led the Wesmen with nine kills, while Brooke Duncalfe had seven. Taylor Cangemi led all players with 16 digs.

The Bisons improve to 13-4 with their seventh consecutive win and remain in prime position to host a playoff series. With three matches remaining in their regular season, the Wesmen will need wins and perhaps some help to return to the post-season after dropping to 5-12.

The Bisons have owned this rivalry, now having won the last seven matches.

“Throughout the years, it’s just got better and better, and I think we’ve come to understand the Wesmen as a team, and we just kind of know how to play them and perform when we play,” said Andi Almonte, who led the Bisons with 14 digs.

The Bisons never really relinquished control in any of the three sets, but their biggest scare came in the opening frame as a 21-15 lead nearly evaporated with four straight points by the Wesmen.

Bentley was happy with his group’s composure during a critical moment early in the match.

“After that, I just thought we cracked on nicely with the match,” he said. “Listen, we respect that team. We prepared for this weekend… and I thought our play reflected it. I was really pleased with our serve and pass game. When those two things are going well, I think we’re a pretty good team.”

The Bisons were a squad mauled by injury in the first half of the season, but they found a way to grind out victories with their cast of veterans and young players stepping up.

Now with his team nearing full strength, Bentley is pleased with where his team stands with the regular season fading. He recalled a message delivered to the team recently by assistant coach Julie Trommel, who played on the Bisons women’s team that won national championships in 2001 and 2002.

“She said to them, ‘The year after we won and we were trying to win the next year, it really didn’t feel like our team until January — we were still ghosts of Christmas past, in a way, kind of hanging on to the previous season.’ And then she said, ‘We finally grew into our own team, and that’s what I’m seeing from you right now,’” Bentley said.

“I thought it was really accurate, because that was kind of the feel that we started to develop in the second term. Obviously, we’re getting healthy again. That’s a big key point, but that’s just been part of the journey,” he added. “I’m really pleased that we have ownership of our team now, and I think it really shows in our play.”

Later in the evening, the Bisons’ men’s team made it a clean sweep, as they triumphed over the Wesmen in a convincing three-set victory (25-16; 25-18; 25-17).

Owen Weekes starred with 14 kills, while Eric Ogaranko chipped in another 10. Sammy Ludwig supplied 31 assists.

Lukę Lodewyks paced the Wesmen with nine kills.

It was Manitoba’s first win over its rivals in 10 meetings.

The Bisons, who have won seven in a row since returning from the holiday break, improved to 11-6 and maintained their edge over Alberta for the fourth seed in Canada West and right to host a playoff series. The reigning conference champion Wesmen dropped to 9-8.

The Bisons and Wesmen meet again on Saturday at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The men’s match goes at 5 p.m., and the women’s at 6:45 p.m.

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