Bisons volleyball standout Surinx sidelined with ankle sprain

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This article was published 12/02/2024 (973 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The University of Manitoba’s path to a U Sports women’s volleyball championship just got a lot tougher.

On Saturday, the third-ranked Bisons lost star left side Raya Surinx to a sprained right ankle during a 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 15-13) loss to the seventh-ranked Alberta Pandas in Edmonton.

Surinx, considered a top candidate for national player of the year honours, is expected to miss this weekend’s Canada West regular-season Friday-Saturday series with the Saskatchewan Huskies at Investors Group Athletic Centre. The doubleheader will complete the regular season for both teams.

“Our best case scenario is for her to be back to the playoffs but it’s too early to tell,” said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley Monday. “We’ll see how she responds to treatment.”

Manitoba and Alberta were tied 24-24 in the third set Saturday when Surinx came down awkwardly after a block and suffered the injury. X-rays confirmed there was no fracture.

In Surinx’s absence, the Bisons almost pulled off a sweep of the weekend series after having beaten Alberta 3-1 on Friday.

“We were put in a tough spot and it would’ve been such a sweet win,” said Bentley. “I changed the whole lineup because our (usual) lineup isn’t conventional. We had to go back to a standard lineup and everybody had to do a couple of different things and we did that — we still hung in there like champs and played great. I’m super proud of the effort.”

Through 22 matches, Surinx leads the conference and the nation in kills (388) and kills per set (4.85). She is also third in Canada West in services aces per set (.50).

Manitoba, now 18-4 and tied with Trinity Western for third-best record in the conference, currently occupies the fourth playoff seed based on the Spartans 55-52 edge in points.

The top four teams in the conference will host a quarter-final playoff series on their home court. Beating 8-14 Saskatchewan twice this weekend would enable Manitoba to hold off 17-5 Alberta and ensure a fourth-place finish.

The Spartans, meanwhile, play the Calgary Dinos in their regular-season finale. The No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds, at 20-2, and the No. 6 University of Fraser Valley Cascades, at 19-3, appear likely to finish first and second, respectively.

“We need to crack on and win this weekend and then obviously we’ll have a better position for playoffs — being able to stay at home and then hopefully it keeps Raya at home and she can keep getting therapy until the 11th hour,” said Bentley. “We’ll see how it goes.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca