Bisons sweep pesky bobcats
Boost of confidence in straight-sets win
Vuthana Suon Staff
In their last home game of the regular season, the Bison men’s volleyball team soundly defeated the Brandon Bobcats in a decisive straight-sets win on Saturday, January 28, completing the two-game sweep and inching them ever closer to a playoff berth.
The Bobcats were feisty throughout the match, but couldn’t win a set against a Bison team that had an edge in both height and experience. Friday’s game was won in three straight sets (25-17, 25-13, 25-16) and Saturday’s game ended similarly (25-19, 25-21, 25-17).
“Brandon played us harder than they did last night,” said Bison head coach Garth Pischke after the Saturday game. “They don’t quite have the size that other teams do, but they make very few unforced errors and do a good job of taking care of the ball.”
With the herd exerting their dominance early in the match, the first two sets were won in a fairly convincing manner. But the Bobcats pounced on the Bisons’ overconfidence in the third set, taking an early 10-5 lead. However, the herd seemed to turn it on after a timeout and responded by stringing together a run to tie it up at 13-13, before ultimately going on to win the set and match.
“I’m not sure what the heck happened there [in the third set],” said Pischke. “We had a few miscues on service reception, allowed them to get a service ace, and had a few bad passes on our part.”
Playoffs
By stringing together another two wins, the Bisons, who are ranked fourth in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), are on pace for a strong finish to the regular season. With winnable games against Regina and Thompson Rivers in the weeks ahead (both teams are in the bottom of their divisions), the Bisons are poised to claim a second place seeding in the Great Plains Division.
Very much known for coaching teams that perform well at the “big dance,” coach Pischke — whose formidable record includes 24 trips to the national championships in his 25-year career with the Bisons, with nine gold, nine silver and four bronze medals — is preparing the squad for the rigours of the playoffs.
“We need to rest a little bit, but we’re going to be focusing on our service game for the next few weeks,” said Pischke.
UMSU player of the game Matt Balchin, who recorded 23 kills over the weekend, agrees with coach Pischke that the Bisons need to work on the serving and receiving end of the game. Furthermore, he hopes to secure a second place finish in the Great Plains Division so as to play the first playoff match at home and take advantage of a friendly crowd.
“The playoffs are what the season is all about. That’s what I’m looking forward to,” said Balchin.
