KELOWNA, B.C. – The UBC Okanagan Heat men's volleyball team earned their first win of the season, rallying to take a five-set victory (18-25, 25-20, 17-25, 25-17, 15-13) over the Manitoba Bisons thanks to a strong showing from Zach van Geel and Teo Ardanaz on Friday evening at The Furnace.
The two squads would appear relatively evenly matched through the first two sets, trading set victories to open the match. The visiting Bisons then set themselves up to earn their second win of the year with a strong performance in the third set to put the Heat on the ropes.
From the fourth set on, however, the match was controlled by the Heat who opened up the set with an unanswered four-point run, including one solo block for Ardanaz (Tsawwassen, B.C.) which was directly followed by two blocks by Ardanaz and Seba Manuel of Kelowna, B.C. The Heat dominated through the rest of the set, refusing to relinquish the lead which would grow as large as a 10-point gap.
The home squad carried the momentum from the fourth set win into the fifth and final set. Once again, the Heat would control the scoring, stomping out the Bisons' winning hopes by denying them the chances of a lead. A ball from van Geel of Calgary, would find Thys Weststrate of Kelowna, B.C., who would hammer the ball past the Bisons to put the Heat up 14-12. van Geel, assisted by Aaron Voth of Lake Country, B.C., would deliver the decisive kill to take the fifth set and the match.
Brady Cole of Clarenville, Nfld., would be another key piece to the Heat's success on the evening. The transfer from the CCAA's Lakeland Rustlers delivered a consistent performance throughout the match, earning three blocks, four digs, and nine kills while hitting .467.
TOP PERFORMERS
Zach van Geel – UBCO
In addition to depositing the match-winning point, van Geel contributed 40 assists towards the Heat's successful offensive efforts. The second-year setter also added four blocks, 11 digs, and six kills, hitting .417.
Ben Carleton – Manitoba
The fourth year opposite lead the Bisons in the losing effort, contributing 19.5 points, including 17 kills, three blocks, and five digs.
WHERE THEY SIT
With tonight's victory, the Heat's record improves to 1-2 on the season as they move up to ninth in the conference. As for the Bisons, they drop to 1-4 and now sit in 10th in Canada West.
UP NEXT
The two teams will return to The Furnace on Saturday evening with the action set to start at 5 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased at the door.
