Manitoba teams finish top four in Wesmen Classic

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This article was published 30/12/2017 (2831 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba was anything but friendly to the visiting schools at this year’s Wesmen Classic.

The weather outside during the three-day event provided the out of town opponents with a rude awakening and so did the performance of the Manitoba schools on the volleyball court.

The eight team tournament, which featured schools from five different provinces, was dominated by the Manitoba programs.

All three representatives from the Keystone Province — the Brandon University Bobcats, University of Winnipeg Wesmen and the University of Manitoba Bisons — finished the tournament in the top four. Brandon, the No.4-ranked team in the U SPORTS national rankings, took down the No.6-ranked Laval Rouge et Or in the final in three sets (25-15, 25-21, 27-25).

“It was a fantastic weekend, it honestly was,” said Brandon head coach Grant Wilson. “There was a lot of games against great competition and it was very well run. We’re thankful we were invited and pleased with the outcome.”

The third-place match was a battle of crosstown rivals, with the No.7-ranked Wesmen getting the best of a young unranked Bisons team in straight sets (25-12, 25-17, 25-23).

“It was much needed,” said Wesmen head coach Larry McKay on winning the third place game over the Bisons. “We’re going to benefit from these teams flying in here to play us, in addition to the already strong Manitoba and Brandon teams being here. We’re grateful to all the teams that came here. It definitely helps us in our development.”

This year was the 51st annual Wesmen Classic, but 2017 edition marked the first time the event featured men’s volleyball. For the past 50 years, the annual holiday tournament has been basketball.

“It was a bit risky breaking 50 years of tried and true tradition,” said McKay. “But the volleyball community in Winnipeg and Manitoba turned out and it was a hugely popular event. It was a good event on many levels.”

Brandon reached the final after defeating McKay’s Wesmen in the semi-final in straight sets (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) on Saturday afternoon. Laval survived a closely contested four-set affair with the Bisons (26-24, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23) to punch their ticket to the final.

In group play on Friday, Laval was able to take down Brandon in four sets. But in the championship game on Saturday night at the Duckworth Centre, they had no answer for the Bobcats.

“I thought the last time we played, they controlled the game with better serving and passing,” said Wilson. “Tonight, our serving was pretty good and we passed well enough to run our offence the way we wanted to and I was just overall pleased with our effort.”

Brandon had all of the momentum in the first two sets, led by their best hitters and tournament all-stars —Seth Friesen and Elliot Viles.

The third set looked like it was going to be a different story, as Laval had a 23-21 lead and they were on their way to force the game to a fourth set. But the Bobcats were able to quickly turn things around, as a big kill by middle James Weir made gave them a 26-25 advantage before Laval’s Chhavanith Ponn hit a ball out of bounds to give Brandon a 27-25 third set win to earn the Wesmen Classic title.

“It’s obviously a neat thing,” said Wilson on winning the first ever volleyball Wesmen Classic. “It’s one of those things you go out and try to compete the best you can and this weekend worked out for us.”

Although it’s an exhibition tournament, the games still matter to the players said Friesen.

“Wins are always good,” said Friesen, a Brandon native. “We have a heavy second semester coming up. This is definitely a confidence booster.”

Friesen, who used to attend the Wesmen Classic as a fan when he was younger, said it was a special feeling to be a part of the new format for the event. But more importantly, he thinks this weekend can help his time in the second half of the season.

“We got to see different styles (of play),” said Friesen, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. “In Canada West, it’s a very physical conference so it’s a different style when you play Quebec and Ontario teams. It took a while to adjust to that but I think we got the hang of it and it will definitely helps us come nationals that we got to see these teams.”

Next year’s Wesmen Classic will feature women’s basketball, with women’s volleyball getting a turn in 2019.