The #3 and #9 U Sports-ranked teams faced off again Saturday night with a (3-0) win for the #3 UBC Okanagan women's volleyball team.
Image Credit: UBC Okanagan Heat
October 30, 2016 - 1:21 PM
KELOWNA - The UBC Okanagan Heat defeated the Brandon University Bobcats three sets to none in women’s volleyball action on Saturday night in the UBC Okanagan gymnasium.
The Heat picked up right where they left off on Friday, out-hitting the Bobcats and sweeping them in three straight, making it six consecutive set wins for the Heat over Brandon this weekend.
Set Scores: 25-15, 25-17, 25-12.
Megan Festival once again headed up the Heat attack, leading all hitters in the match with nine kills. Siobhan Fitzpatrick and Kaitlynn Given followed closely, with eight and seven kills respectively. The Heat finished with 34 kills on an attack percentage of .241.
The Bobcats finished the match with 19 kills, and were led by Courtney Roberts, who had six.
Emily Oxland led the match in assists with 24, and Kaitlynn Given’s nine digs were the most on the night. Given’s also had the most total blocks, with four.
The first set saw the Heat with the lead almost all the way through. They jumped out ahead 5-1 early thanks to serving runs from Erin Drew and Given, and held the lead until a number of errors brought Brandon even at 14-14. Brandon’s only lead of the set was at 15-14, before the Heat went on an 11-point run, with Drew putting in ten straight serves to bury the set, 25-15. Drew had two services aces during the run, and Festival and Given each had two kills.
The second set was the closest in score of the three, with the Heat taking it 25-17. The Bobcats had an early lead at 2-1 but the Heat took it back during a six-serve run by Given, going ahead 7-2, and never let up. Back-to-back kills by Shayla Heinrichs brought Brandon within five at 22-17, but three straight attack errors by Bobcat hitters closed out the set for the Heat. Megan Festival had six of her nine kills in the second, leading all hitters in the set.
The Bobcats took an early lead in the third set, before UBC Okanagan ran away with it and closed the match out with a 25-12 win. The frame saw the Heat front court dominate, hitting .346 while holding the Bobcats to .038. The Bobcats were up 3-1 and then 7-5 to start the frame, and the score stayed close until a six-point run with Emily Oxland serving gave the Heat a 17-9 lead. Again it was an accumulation of errors by the Bobcats that cemented the set for the Heat, as three of the final seven Heat points were on service or attack errors by Brandon. The Heat attack deserves most of the credit though, as they earned 12 kills in the frame. Sara McCreary served during the six-point run that closed out the set and had a pair of service aces in the final four points. Siobhan Fitzpatrick led all hitters with four kills in the final set.
The UBC Okanagan Heat (2-0) will play their next matches on Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12 when they host Manitoba (0-2).
The Brandon Bobcats (0-2) will play their next matches on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 when they host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (0-2).
HEAT NOTES: Prior to the match the Heat's fifth year setter, Emily Oxland was awarded the prestigious Ray Lepp scholarship. The award is handed out yearly by Volleyball BC to two student athletes annually who have the potential to join the National team. More Info. Katy Klomps won the award for UBC Okanagan in 2014.....Also prior to Saturday's match Heat head coach Steve Manuel was presented with an autographed and framed T-shirt with the national silver medal and team photo from last year's team that won the first ever national CIS medal at UBC Okanagan. graduated players from that team, Katy Klomps and Kate DeJong and Director of Athletics an dRecreation, Rob Johnson, presented Steve with the surprise gift that was donated by Karl and Jan Enns.
~ Grayson Leahy, UBC Okanagan Heat
News from © iNFOnews, 2016