Wesmen earn rare win at IGAC

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This article was published 21/11/2024 (660 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It didn’t have the usual passion and fire of a Winnipeg-Manitoba rivalry women’s volleyball game. But if you were the visiting Wesmen, a win was a win Thursday night.

Unranked Winnipeg, employing a starter-laden lineup, posted a 25-14, 20-25, 12-25, 26-24, 15-11 triumph over the No. 7 Bisons in a non-Canada West conference matchup at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Manitoba head coach Ken Bentley opted to give his reserves the bulk of the playing time with only regulars Julia Arnold, an all-star libero, and veteran left side Ella Gray getting substantial playing time.

“Lots of kids played tonight on both sides, so it was good,” said Wesmen head coach Phil Hudson. “But we need to take this game to improve our team as much as we can. We don’t have the liberty of being one of the top teams in Canada right now.

“We need to progress up to one of those (spots), so I was happy with our kids.… No matter who they have on the court it’s still great to compete against the Bisons.”

The Wesmen and Bisons are tied for sixth in Canada West with 4-4 records but the Bisons, coming off a conference title last spring and a third-place finish at the national championship, have higher expectations.

Third-year left side Chelsea Siebenga started and excelled for the Bisons. If the game was supposed to be unimportant, she wasn’t buying it.

“That wasn’t really my mindset,” said Siebenga. “I was trying to keep it like any league game in my head.”

Arnold, who frustrated Winnipeg hitters with a multitude of impressive digs, did not hold back under the circumstances.

“We’re a really good team with anybody on the court, so I didn’t approach it any differently,” she said. “I always know what I need to bring to the floor and that doesn’t change whether or not it’s our starters or this lineup.

“We were out to win and winning matters to us. So this isn’t a light loss. We’re not going to take it like, ‘Oh well.’ We were out to win and we do that every time we play.”

Manitoba regulars such as Raya Surinx, the U Sports player of the year in 2023-24 and the conference’s current leader with an average of 4.57 kills per set, Light Uchechukwu, Eve Catojo, Brenna Bedosky and Katreena Bentley did not play.

The Wesmen also received a good performance from Jaya Dzikowicz, a left side who played out of position on the right side of the attack.

“I told the team, ‘Let’s pretend this is a league game even if it’s not their starters playing — let’s just play our game,’” said fifth-year Winnipeg left side Selva Planincic. “Whether we win or lose we just wanted to walk away happy with the result and how we played.

“We kind of regrouped in the last two sets and we saw that we could win the match.”

“Playing in this gym is difficult, too, because the U of M seldom loses in this gym,” said Hudson. “So it’s a benefit for us to come to play here before we come here for league.”

The teams do not meet in conference play until a home-and-home series on Jan. 30-Feb. 1.

Winnipeg’s next action comes on Nov. 29-30 when the Mount Royal Cougars are the visitors to the Duckworth Centre. Manitoba, meanwhile, travels west for a two-game weekend series against the Regina Cougars.

The Bisons have struggled early in the season — most significantly when they were swept at home by Thompson Rivers Wolfpack in late October. Last weekend, Manitoba swept a two-game series against the Brandon Bobcats.

“I think with the pressure of the season we may have started off a little shaky maybe, but not even because TRU is a great team and we’re finding our feet and last weekend was a testament to that,” said Arnold, whose team hosts the national championship March 14-16. “I thought we played really well and every day we’re getting better. We don’t want to peak too early.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca