Bisons punch ticket to national volleyball championship final with win over Thunderbirds

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This article was published 15/03/2025 (198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s the hurdle that the high-flying Manitoba Bisons hadn’t been able to clear.

The Bisons had fallen short in the U Sports women’s volleyball championship semifinals in each of the last two years and were forced to settle for less than they thought their talent warranted.

On Saturday, they finally broke through.

Facing the same team that ended their title hopes two years ago, the No. 3 Bisons earned a hard-fought 3-1 (21-25; 25-23; 32-30; 26-24) victory over the two-time defending champion No. 2 University of British Columbia Thunderbirds in front of a raucous home crowd and punched their ticket to the national championship final at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The No. 3 Bisons will face the No. 5 University of Montreal Carabins on Sunday at 7 p.m., with their first Canadian title in a decade at stake.

“We’ve had a lot of growth as a team and as individuals, and I think having those big moments three years ago has really set us up for this year, being able to play these big moments now as more evolved players and women,” said fifth-year libero Julia Arnold, whose 22 digs led all players.

“It was just apropos that we played them again in the semi, and we got it done this time.”

The high-stakes match between Canada West rivals and two of the top programs in the country was everything it should have been entertainment-wise. An environment so loud that UBC’s coaching staff wore earplugs.

Bisons left side Raya Surinx hammered a game-high 25 kills, with 10 digs and one service ace. Outside hitter Andi Almonte provided another 11 kills to go with 12 digs.

Thunderbirds outside hitter Lucy Borowski had 17 kills, while Akash Grewal supplied another 16 kills for the visitors.

Both offences had their way in the opening set, but the difference was at the service line for UBC.

Grewal, who was second in the country with .77 service aces per set this season, made her presence felt early with three aces as the visitors jumped out to a 17-10 lead.

The Bisons narrowed the gap to 21-19 and survived a third round of services from Grewal but never caught up to the Thunderbirds, who led the entire opening set.

A strong service game kept the hosts off balance and led to 19 kills and an outstanding .417 hit percentage collectively for the visitors.

Manitoba managed, collecting 14 kills and hitting .419.

“That was probably the biggest part of that first set was she put us in a bit of a hole there,” Bisons head coach Ken Bentley said of Grewal, who finished with four aces. “But as the match went on, we just got to it better and started to manage it better. I mean, it’s a hell of a serve, no doubt about it.”

The Bisons were still looking for a moment to settle them into the match entering the second set.

Light Uchechukwu, one of the team’s best attackers, recorded just one kill in the opening frame and was struggling to find a rhythm.

With the Bisons holding a 10-8 lead, Light came out of the dark.

An incredible rally was finished by an emphatic spike by Uchechukwu, bringing the crowd to its collective feet.

It was perhaps one of the most monumental points in the match.

“That just kind of solidified our game,” Arnold said. “Getting all those balls up is just Bisons volleyball, so I think being able to win that rally was like, ‘(hell) yeah.’ It just solidified this is our game to win.”

Uchechukwu finished with 10 kills and nine digs.

“She just stayed in it and stayed really strong and stayed confident. She has no reason not to be,” said Bentley. “She’s a great player. She’s been playing this game a long time. She’s playing her best volleyball, she knows it. Before the match, I said, ‘Just keep it simple, kid. Trust your instincts to play, trust the prep and just let it go.’ And I was really proud of her for that.”

The third set delivered one of the most pivotal stretches of the match, as neither team could separate itself. The score was tied 13 times and saw seven lead changes before Surinx, who had eight kills in the frame, pounded the set-winning point past a Thunderbirds’ defender.

“It was a battle from the first point, and we talked about it a lot during the game too — we have the fitness to rely on in moments like this,” Arnold said of the marathon third set. “So I think it’s really important to acknowledge how that work really does pay off in the end, when you’re playing a national semifinal and you need that body work behind in order to stay in every single point.”

The fourth set didn’t come any easier to Manitoba, which was in a 10-5 deficit out of the gates. A 15-7 run gave the hosts a three-point lead entering the final stretch, however. The teams continued a tug-of-war into the 20s like they had all evening, but an entertaining final point saw Surinx get three cracks at the ball before hammering a shot that was too much for the defence to stop.

“Our inability to serve to the places we needed to serve,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer, who was not pleased with his team’s service game after the first set. “Didn’t maintain it. Didn’t get them out of system nearly enough, so credit to them for being able to handle that. They really settled down.

“I thought for chunks of that match, they were a little more assertive than we were in some situations.”

The Thunderbirds will play the No. 1 Alberta Pandas in Sunday’s bronze medal match at 3 p.m.

The Pandas were on the losing end of the biggest upset of the tournament late Friday as they were swept by Montreal 3-0 (25-23; 25-22; 27-25) in the second semifinal.

In the consolation matches, No. 4 McMaster swept No. 8 Memorial 3-0 (25-11; 25-21; 25-12) and No. 6 Saint Mary’s defeated No. 7 Saskatchewan 3-1 (25-19; 14-25; 25-18; 26-24) to advance to the fifth-place contest at 1 p.m.

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca