Heat rally over Bisons in five sets to win Game 2

Recap by UBCO Sports Information

KELOWNA, B.C. – Powered by boisterous crowd and a balanced offensive attack, the U SPORTS No. 4-ranked UBCO Heat men's volleyball team rallied in five sets (25-19, 13-25, 18-25, 25-14, 15-11) over the No. 8-ranked Manitoba Bisons to win Game 2 on Saturday night and send their quarter-final series to a third and deciding game.

In an incredibly tight game with little separating the teams statistically, the Heat upped their defensive intensity in the fourth and fifth sets while executing at a high level on offense, including hitting 0.667 percent in the final frame to earn their first home playoff win since joining Canada West in 2011-12.

"Anything you're doing for the first time is really hard and you know, yesterday was really hard and today was also really hard," commented Heat head coach Scott Koskie after the match. "We took the experience from yesterday and brought it forward to today so it feels amazing. You know, these guys have accomplished so much this year and to have them experience this win on home court in front of this crowd in the playoffs is unbelievable."

Leading the line for the Heat in Game 2 was Kelowna native Thys Weststrate and second-year transfer Xander van Driel. Both players had a game-high 15 kills with Weststrate adding eight blocks, nine digs and an ace for a game-high 20.5 points. Van Driel added six digs, an ace and two blocks as he bounced back from a tough opening game to post 17.5 points.

Fifth-year setter Zach van Geel assured Saturday night wouldn't be his final game in a Heat uniform dishing out 47 assists, six blocks and eight digs while Seba Manuel added 13 kills.

For the Bisons, Owen Weeks was a force all night long, firing home a game-high 17 kills while adding seven digs and three aces to match Weststrate's 20.5 points. Jordan Heppner was impressive at the net with seven blocks and eight kills while Karil Dadash Adeh and Eric Ogaranko finished with nine kills. 

With the UBCO Gymnasium, colloquially known as "The Furnace", packed to the brim for a second straight night with 1284 spectators, the Heat came out on fire once again in the opening frame. After an off night in Game 1, van Driel was front and centre in the first set. The Australian put up five kills in the frame, as well as a highlight-reel solo block on Dadash Adeh. He would finish the set in style with a clean ace as UBCO took the opener 25-19.

The momentum the Heat enjoyed evaporated quickly as the second set was all Bisons. Weeks started it off for Manitoba with three kills in the opening 11 points, followed by the big serving of Dadash Adeh, who was once again playing it up for the crowd. Manitoba's block, led by Heppner, was centre stage for the remainder of the frame as the Bisons evened the match with a 25-13 set win.

Manitoba carried their momentum into the third set and allowed them to be more consistent throughout. Slowly but surely, they built their advantage with a balanced offensive attack. Weststrate contributed multiple kills to try and keep the Heat close but ultimately, an emphatic Ogaranko kill gave the Bisons a comfortable lead and they would take the set 25-18.

The game flipped again in the fourth as the Heat pulled away early highlighted by a Lucas Woelders ace and a pair of Manitoba errors. The Bisons began unravelling as the set progressed, with Dadash Adeh shown a yellow card followed by a red card for Alex Witt. In between it all was Heat domination as a 10-1 run blew the set wide open and UBCO cruised to a 25-14 win to send it to five for the second straight night. 

Heading to five sets for the second straight night, the two teams traded side outs early on before three straight errors from Manitoba gave the Heat a small cushion. UBCO was able to maintain the advantage through key kills from Manuel and Weststrate. After a Woelders kill gave UBCO three set points, van Geel and South combined for a massive block to give the Heat their first playoff victory over Manitoba in seven all-time postseason meetings.

With a trip to the Canada West Final Four on the line on Saturday, Koskie was asked what it would take to see his team through to the conference semifinals.

"I would imagine probably five sets. This is high-level volleyball and tt's going to take everything we have. You know, today took everything we had, and whatever we have left, it's going to take all of that [for us to advance]."

Game 3 of the series is set for 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 1 at the UBCO Gymnasium. Tickets for the game can be purchased by visiting GoHeat.ca/Tickets and the game can also be seen live on CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel.