KELOWNA, B.C.— The UBCO Heat fell short to the Brandon Bobcats in a nail-biting five-set match 3-2 on Friday at UBCO Gymnasium. The Heat won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-21 before dropping the next three 22-25, 23-25, and 15-17.
For the Heat, the Player of the Game went to fifth-year middle
Thys Weststrate as he finished with 16 kills on 22 attacks while hitting .727 and adding five total blocks. Third-year outside
Xander van Driel recorded 19 kills and eight digs while second-year setter
Dominic Sodaro tallied 53 assists and 11 digs.
Leading the Bobcats was right side Liam Kindle, who finished with 17 kills, 14 digs, and a team-high 20.5 points. Setter Kale Fisher recorded 38 assists while adding six digs and four total blocks. Matthew Siebenga posted a team-high eight total blocks and added four kills on six attacks while Ethan Baraniuk tallied 14 kills, seven digs, and 14.5 points.
The Heat won the opening set 25-22, finishing with 13 kills to the Bobcats' eight. Van Driel had five of the Heat's kills, including the final point, while
Seba Manuel added three. The Bobcats recorded two service aces but also had seven service errors.
In the second set, the Heat held a 14-9 edge in kills and a 3-1 advantage in service aces while taking it 25-21. Sodaro dished out 13 assists, with van Driel finishing the set on his fourth kill.
UBCO erased a 12-7 deficit in the third and moved ahead 19-18, but Brandon took the set 25-22. The Bobcats held a 15-11 edge in kills, led by Kindle's four, while van Driel had four kills and
Jack Taylor added three for the Heat.
In the fourth set the Heat produced 14 kills with Weststrate, Taylor, and van Driel each recording four, but eight service errors helped the Bobcats take the set 25-23. The Heat cut a 15-10 deficit to 21-19 and later tied the set at 21 on a Manuel block, while the Bobcats got four kills from Baraniuk and three from Kindle.
The Heat fell 17-15 in the fifth set, with the Bobcats taking the final two points after the score was tied at 15. Westrate delivered five of the Heat's nine kills in the set, while the Bobcats countered with four kills from Kindle and scored three points on blocks, including consecutive points that moved them from down 13-12 to up 14-13.
Up next, the Heat men's volleyball team rematch with the Bobcats tomorrow, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. at UBCO Gymnasium.
