Bisons douse Heat in five set thriller

WINNIPEG – On a night where six different players recorded double digit kills, it was substitutes Eric Ogaranko and Alex Witt who played hero for Manitoba in game one of their play-in series at home against UBC Okanagan.

The pair connected on the game-winning kill in the fifth, helping the Bisons over-take the Heat 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12).

The left side Ogaranko subbed in for Manitoba in set four following a three-point Heat lead. Witt, who’s formed a lethal combo all year with fellow setter Sammy Ludwig, then came off the bench in the fifth. 

The latter had the two most important plays of the game in the fifth. First, he gave Manitoba a 14-12 lead on an ace, and on match point, he went down low to dig a ball that Ogaranko then blasted off hands from the right to seal the deal. 

“That was our whole year. That was the depth of the team. We have ten, 12 guys who can get into a match. Today the fifth set was super important. Alex came in and had a greater connection with the middles right away, and Eric did a great job attacking,” said Bisons head coach Arnd ‘Lupo’ Ludwig. 

“That’s what this team is about, is the depth.”

It was a team effort from both sides all night, who put on an offensive clinic from start to finish. It was fitting, as the two sides split a pair of games earlier in the year, had the same regular season record of 9-11 and knew each other well.

The Heat, led by 54 assists from Zach van Geel (which tied his career high), hit .397 with six different players recording at least two kills. Seba Manuel was van Geel’s favourite target, with 18 kills and a .412 hitting percentage.

Meanwhile, Manitoba hit .317, paced by 51 assists from Ludwig, which tied his career high. 

True freshman Owen Weekes led all players with a career-high 22 kills along with eight digs, while Karil Dadash Adeh had 17 kills and Spencer Grahame had 16. 

The match also served as a homecoming for first-year Heat head coach Scott Koskie, a Bisons alum, former Player of the Year and national champ with the program.

“This is a special place. I played here at the university and then I played here with the national team and I coached here with the national team. There is a lot of volleyball history in the building,” he said.

“It was a little bit emotional coming back to Winnipeg. All the people here who support the game, the officials, the staff, it’s always great to come back to a community who appreciates volleyball. It’s been really special and it’s nice that it worked out this way.”

Six different UBCO players recorded a kill in the first set, while Dadash Adeh and Weekes combined for 11 for Manitoba. The hosts led all throughout, with UBCO taking momentum and their first lead at 17-16 on a van Geel pass to Mika Feilberg, who went off hands.

From there it was shot-for-shot, until a few critical errors late secured the set for the visitors. 

Weekes hit .500 after two, as he and Dadash Adeh combined for 20 kills in a set two win for the Bisons, who hit .419. The Heat weren’t far behind, at .345.

The Heat took a 20-18 lead off a van Geel ace, but that’s when Ludwig went back to the outside for Weekes and Dadash Adeh. The pair tied the game up, and Weekes ended the set with his 11th kill, going hard off hands from the right.

Bisons captain Spencer Grahame was the story in the third. He had three of Manitoba’s first seven points off left side attacks, as Ludwig went to him early and often. He finished the set with five kills, as Manitoba surged to an 18-13 lead.

But van Geel had a response. His diving dig, the seventh of the game for the setter, led to a Seb Manuel kill which made it 23-21 late.

Manitoba shut the door on a comeback however, as Dadash Adeh put down a c-ball kill, and Weekes belted his 16th kill of the match (and second straight set winner) right after with Ludwig diving to the floor to keep the rally alive, finding the rookie for a no-doubter.

“I’m just playing. I’m having fun,” said Weekes, the top recruit in the province of Manitoba this past year.

“I was taking big deep breaths in between points. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be here. I know why I’m here. I was just staying focused, not really thinking, just playing.”

The Bisons hit just five percent in the fourth, compared to .385 for UBCO. Feilberg had back-to-back blocks on Grahame to give the visitors a 13-9 lead. Manitoba got within one, but were not able to overtake the Heat. 

Feilberg ended the fourth with a smash off hands for his seventh kill of the game.

A van Geel block gave UBCO a 5-3 lead in the fifth, and they added another point right after, but Manitoba had the response.

Back-to-back aces from Jordon Heppner, second in the country in the stat this year, gave the hosts a 7-6 lead, and it was a race to the finish from there as the evenly-matched sides dueled point for point.

A Weekes kill gave Manitoba a 13-12 lead, and then Witt stepped up with an ace, followed by the Ogaranko match winner to conclude the instant classic.

Game two goes tomorrow at IGAC at 7 pm.

“It sounds cliché, but it’s going to come down to three plays,” said Koskie. 

“Who’s going to make a play? Their setter came in, he made a great serve over there to position one. I don’t think the game is going to be won or lost on an error. Whoever is going to take the game is going to have to take the game. Those last two points there, it was a great serve and a great hit off the block. It was our best against their best and it bounced their way.”