WINNIPEG – "It doesn't matter what we did last year."
 
It's a statement veteran libero Julia Arnold made at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. The year prior, the Herd made a run all the way to the final four at U SPORTS nationals, the first time in nine seasons that the program had punched their ticket to the final eight.
 
With a roster that didn't lose a single key member, the Bisons were expected to be in national contention again. They had the firepower, the athleticism and the experience on the coaching staff to make it happen.
 
Week one was business as usual. A two-game sweep over Regina where five different players posted double-digit kills while not giving up a set.  
 
And then they ran into the Fraser Valley Cascades.
 
In 2022-23, UFV was the only team to beat Manitoba at home in the regular season. They finished 18-6 in the conference standings, two spots ahead of the 14-10 Bisons. And two weeks into the following campaign, they "brought us back to reality," said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley.
 
Last season's conference and national Player of the Year Gabrielle Attieh had 25 kills, including 17 in game two, and the Cascades dug the ball 118 times with 17 service aces. They added 42 assisted blocks, including 28 in game one, in wins of 3-1 and 3-0.
 
Just like that, the highly-touted Bisons were 2-2. It was clear there was more work to do.
 
"We had to find our feet again as a team and not have any expectations about last year," said Arnold.
 
"I think that was kind of a wake-up call for us. We weren't exactly gelling yet as a team. Being able to learn from that weekend was really important for us."
 
Instead of lingering on the sweep, the Bisons picked themselves up, strapped in, and got ready for another climb to the top of national contention.
 
"We started climbing out of it day by day. We did a really good job of that," said Bentley.
 
"We won some big matches after that. We had to scrape and claw against Mount Royal and just find our way back to swimming again and not just treading water. Collectively it was about recognizing that we had to put it in. We all share this and we're all in this together."
 
Practices in the weeks following had enhanced purpose.  
 
The team had put in the work in the off-season, and they knew what they needed to do to evolve and grow. No one was going to out-work Manitoba from that point forward. Their level of fitness was on point, because they had put in the time.
 
"Doing the things that they did allowed them to fall back on that body of work when they're in high pressure situations, and continue to perform and exert at the level they're used to," said strength and conditioning coach Cole Scheller. 
 
"They're not competing against the fatigue of five sets on the second day. It's not a we're too tired to play against these guys. We're going to perform at a level they can't keep up with and they'll break down before we do."
 
The team saw their efforts pay off. A perfect example was their game at home on November 18 against MRU, the second in a back-to-back. 
 
Down a set entering the fourth, and four points away from a loss, the Bisons kept battling. Their level of play didn't falter as the match continued. They won the fourth 25-23, and didn't trail in the fifth after going up 4-3.
 
The victory was part of 12 straight wins for Manitoba, surrendering just eight sets along the way.
 
Sweep perennial powerhouse and No. 1 nationally ranked Trinity Western for the first time in 14 years? Check.
 
Take a game against defending national champion UBC, the squad that defeated them during last year's national semi? Check.
 
Win the Duckworth Challenge for Manitoba in the deciding match? Check.
 
Set a new program record for regular season wins, with 20? Check.
 
Sweep UBCO in the quarterfinals? Check.
 
Enter the semis undefeated at home? Check.
 
Individually, setter Katreena Bentley set a new Canada West record with 983 assists. Outsider hitter Raya Surinx led the nation in kills, with 388, and libero Julia Arnold led CanWest in digs, while eclipsing 1000 for her career.
 
For the first time in 14 years, the program had three conference all-stars, in the three above.
 
Everything was coming together for the Bisons. But in order to earn a second straight trip to nationals, and a birth in the CanWest final, they had one more major barrier, the UFV Cascades.
 
But this time, the Herd flipped the script.
 
They won the serve-receive battle, posted 21 more digs, and were simply "tenacious defensively" in a 3-0 sweep to take a 1-0 lead in the Canada West semi finals at IGAC.
 
The win was the Bisons' first over UFV in two years, and they improved their record at home to 14-0.
 
Arnold set a Canada West three-set playoff record with 24 digs, while captain Light Uchechukwu, left and right side Andi Almonte and Bentley all had at least ten digs.
 
The Cascades got 13 digs from Lauren Attieh and nine from libero Emily Matsui, while Lauren and Gabrielle Attieh combined for 20 kills.  
 
"I feel like they really had our number [in week two] on serve-receive. I thought we held up better on passing. That was to me one difference," said Bentley.
 
"It's been four months almost, it feels like a lifetime ago. We've done a really good job on the daily on investing in the work and trying to improve as a volleyball team. If we don't defend, we won't beat this team. It's that simple. This is a really good team we're playing, full of athletes and experience. We just had to defend."
 
"That was a monumental weekend for us, playing them. It was a great lesson in how we are human beings," added assistant coach and former Bisons national champion setter Michelle Sawatzky-Koop.

"We expect certain things, and we have to fight it. Fight those expectations and just do the work. The girls just did the work today."
 
Respond more, react less
After combining for 240 digs over two games earlier in the year, it's no surprise that the two sides played exceptional defence once again on Thursday.
 
The opening set included 42 digs, led by eight from Arnold and Matsui, who finished first and second in that category in the conference in the regular season.
 
Arnold had multiple one-handed digs to keep rallies alive, while Bentley had four digs and a key block that led to a Brenna Bedosky off-speed kill from the middle.
 
Arnold's evolution in the game, and the season overall, has been her patience.
 
"We played a really good libero on the other side too. Those two have been going at it all year. I think Julia's maturity, she's not rushing to places before she sees something," said Bentley.
 
"The best way to describe it, I think she responds way more and reacts way less. Last year she'd get out of her shoes a little early and move, and the ball's hit the other way. She's a bit more patient and a lot better in that area for sure."
 
"That has been kind of my battle my whole career, just staying patient," acknowledged the libero, whose 1064 career regular season digs [including 347 this season] are the 20th most in Canada West history in the rally scoring era, just 268 shy of Cassie Bujan for the school record.
 
"I read the play and I want to rush in and get the ball so bad. I've worked really hard on being patient so I can see everything that's going on and not over-running all these balls and getting more [digs]."
 
The Cascades took a 13-12 lead in the first thanks in part to the stellar accuracy of conference all-star Lauren Attieh, who showed her crafty skill-set, going line multiple times in tight spaces, leading her side with four kills after one.
 
But a Bisons timeout from Ken Bentley shifted momentum.
 
The visitors recorded two errors in a row that led to Manitoba points, and then Uchechukwu posted a solo block on Talia Attieh, which lit up a loud and passionate home crowd.
 
Uchechukwu's block was part of a four-point run for the Bisons, who didn't trail the rest of the set, closing things out with an Ella Gray line shot, one of four kills in the first for the Team Canada selection.
 
The Gray kill was courtesy of a back set from Bentley, while Almonte kept the rally going with a diving dig on the money to her setter.
 
Gray finished the game with 12 kills, and was named Player of the Match for Manitoba, while Uchechukwu led all players with 13 kills. Both athletes hit at least .225, while Bedosky led all players with a .700 hitting percentage in the game with seven kills and no errors.
 
The Cascades took a 4-0 lead in set two, with UFV setter Cailin Bitter running the middle to Natalie Crews in key situations. Crews had four kills entering the third, erasing multiple Bisons rallies.
 
But the Bisons had the answer in the form of Uchechukwu.
 
She and Bentley connected for five kills in the second, including three points which helped turn the momentum of the set.
 
With the score tied at 14, and also at 15, Bentley found her long-time teammate with bump sets from behind the attack line. From there, Uchechukwu used her power to blast two kills cross court.
 
Then, with the score tied at 16, Uchechukwu found Bentley right in the pocket on a pass, which led to an Eve Catojo kill from the middle.
 
The Cascades pushed back with captain Gabrielle Attieh, who showcased her veteran poise with a cross court kill, pushing the ball just inside of Manitoba's double block.
 
The kill made the score 20-19 for Manitoba, and a Crews blast tied the game up one point later.
 
But it was the hosts who had the juice in the chase to five.
 
With the score 24-23, Arnold dove from the back row to ahead of the attack line, saving a ball that eventually resulted in an error from UFV to give the Herd the 25-23 win.
 
Through two sets, Arnold had 17 digs to lead all players.
 
Arnold, Bentley and Gray all dove to save an early rally for Manitoba in the third, eventually leading to an Uchechukwu kill to give the Bisons a 6-3 lead.
 
Uchechukwu followed that up with three more kills within the Bisons' first ten points, as Bentley continued to find her in advantageous situations.
 
Gabrielle Attieh continued to show off her repertoire, putting away multiple kills, one of which was off speed into a open corner in the front row to make the score 13-8 Bisons.
 
But a well-balanced Bisons attack shut the door on any Cascades comeback.
 
Bedosky posted two kills from the middle, one on a set from Bentley where she sprinted from the back row all the way up to the net on the money, while Gray added three kills to get the Herd to 20 points.
 
In fitting fashion, match point was earned thanks to stellar defence.
 
Bentley dove with one hand from the attack line to keep the rally alive and UFV eventually recorded an error.
 
"Playing [UFV] right at the beginning of the year, it was a defensive heavy game, and they have some really good attackers," added Arnold.
 
"We came in prepared that we were going to have to d them up and that's how we were going to win the game."
 
The two sides will play again tomorrow at 7 pm, with Manitoba looking to punch their ticket to nationals.