Box Score WINNIPEG – With the Canada West playoffs less than a month away, the stakes have increased. No one understands this more than the Herd’s women’s volleyball team, who are in an absolute battle at the top of the standings with two games left in their regular season schedule.
Following a 3-1 win on Saturday at home over Winnipeg, the No. 3 nationally ranked Bisons surged to 14-4 on the campaign, winners of 12 straight regular season games.
They’ve won more sets (47) than anyone in their conference, and are jockeying for position with 14-2 UBC (who they swept two weeks ago) and Fraser Valley, along with 13-3 Alberta (series split) for a top four spot. The Herd host MacEwan this weekend to conclude their regular season schedule.
Undefeated in the regular season since November 2nd, it’s been business as usual for a Bisons squad that’s consistently elevated their game in key moments over the last three years specifically.
The climb to the top of the mountain reached a notable height in 2023, when the Herd’s roster – 12 players of whom are still repping the program – advanced to nationals for the first time in nine years.
In order to get there, Manitoba had to best Winnipeg in enemy territory. In front of a capacity crowd of over 1,800, the two teams combined for 213 digs in a game where every point was earned.
Bisons fifth-year libero Julia Arnold led all players with 35 digs, breaking a nine-year, five-set conference playoff record in a 3-2 victory to secure Manitoba Canada West bronze.
One week later, a gritty and resilient Bisons team confidently delivered on the biggest stage, beating No. 3 nationally ranked Mount Royal 3-2 in the national quarterfinals, a team that had beaten the Herd four times prior that season.
As a group, the Bisons dug the ball 82 times, with current roster members Arnold, Ella Gray, Katreena Bentley, Andi Almonte and Raya Surinx all posting double figures in the stat.
One of the fittest teams in the country, the Bisons have pushed themselves to new heights ever since the 2023 tournament.
In the year-and-a-half since, they’ve gone a combined 41-9 in the regular and post-season, including the school’s first Canada West title last year, along with a national bronze medal.
“That was a massive moment for our team. Look at what it gave us from that point forward. It gave us opportunity after opportunity to show that we are a really good team, and it gave us a lot of exposure to end of season matches, and how well we handled it, being on the road for the playoffs and ultimately beating MRU in the quarterfinal when they had our number all year long,” reflected legendary head coach Ken Bentley, who’s taken the Herd to nationals on 22 separate occasions.
“The road obviously is difficult regardless, but without that experience in those next six weeks, we wouldn’t have had the benefit of learning those lessons. It was a massive match for us in terms of our growth, massive.”
And so, it was fitting that on Saturday afternoon, Manitoba and Winnipeg engaged in another classic, gritty contest. For the sixth straight time, it was the was Bisons who came out on top in front of over 1,500 fans, once again performing in a high-pressure environment with lots at stake.
Over the last two regular seasons in the second half of the year, Manitoba has lost just twice.
In the rematch of their home and home against the U of W from Thursday, the Herd tallied 64 digs, playing relentless volleyball whether things were going right, or wrong (for portions of time).
Three Bisons had at least ten digs, led by Arnold’s game-high 19.
In her final regular season home game against the Wesmen, the reliable libero stayed true to form against a squad she recorded over 20 digs against on six different occasions. Arnold enters seniors weekend against MacEwan just 19 digs shy of the regular season school record of 1,332, set by Cassie Bujan six years ago.
Two of Arnold’s 19 digs came early in the fourth, as the Herd showcased their depth, fitness and composure in pressure moments.
The prior set had gone to extra points, with the Bisons out-lasting their opposition 30-28. They fought off three set points, at 24-22, 25-24 and 26-25, trusting each other throughout the marathon.
A Brenna Bedosky kill, one of 12 on the day, narrowed UW’s lead to 24-23, and Manitoba won a long rally two points later, with sprawling digs from Bentley and Almonte, the latter of whom had two important kills down the stretch.
The versatility of Manitoba’s roster continued to shine when it mattered in the third, with Ella Gray subbing into the game to make a difference late in the set.
Bentley – also playing in her final regular season game against Winnipeg along with captain Light Uchechukwu, Julia Horne and Chloe Ellerbrock – showed incredible balance and poise at the net, pushing the ball to Gray in a perfect location for a cross-court kill and 28-27 lead.
Then, two points later Gray put down another kill in transition, one of six in the final two sets. Raya Surinx ended the set on the next rally, smashing her 12th of a team-high 14 kills to give the hosts a 2-1 set lead.
Cue Arnold.
She calmy handled two back row blasts with the score 5-2 for Manitoba early in the fourth, consistently getting the ball back to Bentley – who had 49 assists – in system.
Three straight times, Bentley went to Almonte during the rally, who maintained incredible velocity on her shot and eventually earned the kill – one of eight on the day to go with a team-high 40 attacks.
Almonte’s kill sparked a large Bisons run in a dominant 24-15 set win to close out the game.
“Andi was great today, she hit the snot out of it. In that third set to win, she hit some really important balls. She’s really developed a thick skin for that. She’s developed into a hitter who isn’t afraid to pull the trigger in those moments. She did a great job there,” said Bentley.
“They stuck us in a rotation for eight or nine or whatever and made it really hard for us. We bent, we didn’t break, which is critical obviously, and kept our head up. We still made really important plays. We passed, we made our serves in those moments. We just hung in there and kept playing volleyball. I was really proud of us still finding a way to win the set. Whether we win the set 30-28 or 25-18, it’s just a set. You have to crack onto the next set, which I thought we did a really good job of after that. We continued to play Bisons volleyball. I was really proud of that. We were great defensively, and we fought hard and made the gritty plays.”
