The UBC Okanagan Heat women’s volleyball team took the second of two matches against the Winnipeg Wesmen this weekend, 3-1 on Saturday night in Winnipeg. Set scores were 25-12, 25-20, 25-27, and 25-22.
The Heat women improve their conference record to 10-4 with the win, while the Wesmen drop to 1-13.
The Heat are on a two match winning streak and head home this upcoming weekend for a showdown with the third ranked in Canada, the Trinity Western Spartans, winners of their last 10, and are 13-1 on the season. The Friday (Jan. 20) night match will get underway at 6 p.m. First serve on Saturday is at 5 p.m.
The third set was the lone win of the night for Winnipeg. UBCO had an exceptional nine-point run before the technical time-out, taking a 14-11 lead as the Wesmen couldn’t seem to find their swing. The latter half of the set saw the home side’s hitters level out, as they were able to put away kills late to force it to extra points. Errors were once again an issue for the Heat, and the final point for Winnipeg came on a UBCO attacking error.
The errors continued for the Heat into the fourth set. The Wesmen were able to take advantage of this early, putting together eight straight points and jumping ahead 11-4. Three runs, two of four points and other of five, put the Heat up 22-17. Jakszuk brought match point with another kill, before Lea buried another to close out the victory.
The Heat’s hitting was the difference in the match, as they finished with more kills and better hitting percentages in all four sets. Final tallies were 53 kills to 36 on percentages of .262 to .103.
Kaitlynn Given, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, and Aidan Lea were once again the top hitters, finishing with 11 kills apiece on Saturday night. Erin Drew led the match in blocks, with six, and Sara McCreary finished with a match-high 43 assists.
The Wesmen attack was led by Danika Picklyk, who finished with 10 kills. Behind her was Maria Colvin, with seven. Libero Madison Fyvie led Winnipeg with 13 digs.
The first set saw the biggest score differential with the Heat taking it by 13, 25-12. Kills were 12-10 for the Heat, who also hit .345 to Winnipeg’s .161. The Heat ran away with the set before the technical time-out, scoring seven straight points that included six kills and a service ace. Two three-point runs, including two more aces and three more kills, closed out the set for the Heat.
The second set was much closer than the first, with the two sides trading runs throughout. The Heat were able to capitalize on Wesmen errors late in the set to put together four consecutive points, jumping ahead 23-18. A pair of kills, from Given and Jakszuk, finished off the set.
The UBC Okanagan Heat men’s volleyball team dropped both matches at the University of Winnipeg’s Dr. David F. Anderson Gymnasium this weekend, falling 3-0 on Saturday night. Set scores were 25-18, 25-17, and 25-19.
With the loss, the Heat’s record in conference competition this season is 4-10, while the Wesmen improve to 6-8.
The Heat’s Kyle Hinchey was the most successful attacker in the match, finishing with 14 kills. Lars Bornemann was behind him for the Heat, earning the second-most kills with nine. Taylor Howe set the pace for Winnipeg, earning 10 kills, while Casey Schouten was close on his heels with nine.
As a team, the Wesmen had the better night statistically across the board. Their blocking was the biggest difference-maker, though, as the home side finished with nine kills to the Heat’s three.
The first set was close until the technical time-out, at which point the Wesmen were up 16-13. Six attack errors by the Heat from that point onwards allowed Winnipeg to string together points, and extend the lead before Taylor Howe scored the final point of the opening set to clinch it. The Heat had more kills in the set (12-10), but their twice as many attack errors (8-4) negated that slight advantage.
The second set saw the Wesmen lead throughout. Scoring the first point on another Howe kill, they never allowed the Heat a lead. Again the set was close to the midway point, with the Heat down three at 18-15. A four-point run, coming on two Heat errors, a service ace, and a kill, gave Winnipeg a significant lead at 22-15. Their hitting closed it out, with two more kills, before another Heat error marked the final point. Winnipeg took the edge in kills in the second, 15-7, while each team made five attacking errors.
The final set saw the Wesmen extend their lead much earlier than in the first two, putting together a three- and a four-point run to go up 12-5. The Heat put together a four-point run of their own, that included three kills, to make it 20-15, but three Winnipeg kills and two Heat errors closed out the set, and the match, for the Wesmen.
The UBC Okanagan Heat (4-10) will play their next matches at home in Kelowna, when they host the nation's top ranked team in the Trinity Western Spartans (13-1) on January 20 & 21. The University of Winnipeg Wesmen (6-8) play next on the road against the University of Regina Cougars (0-14) on those same days.
The UBC Okanagan women’s basketball team fell to the University of Victoria Vikes by a final score of 75-52 in Kelowna on Saturday night.
The Vikes improve their Canada West regular season record to 8-4, while the Heat now sit at 2-12.
Victoria had the better shooting night overall, finish with an impressive 55.2% from the field. The Heat finished with free throw percentage of 100%, making all nine from the stripe. Emily Kanester, Shenelle Tamminen, and Chloe Kennedy were the only three Heat players to take three throws, and made two, five, and two respectively.
Rebounding was again a difference maker in the game, as the Vikes pulled down 41 to the Heat’s 27. Partly because of this, Victoria outscored UBCO 34-22 in the paint.
UBC Okanagan only led the scoring in one quarter, putting up 17 in the third and holding Victoria to 12. That wasn’t enough to jump-start a comeback, though, as the Vikes were up 46-24 at half-time.
Karstein scored most of her points in the first quarter, with eight through the first ten minutes of play. Only one Vike shot less than 50% in the opening frame, and they made 10 of their 18 field goals while the Heat made just five.
As they had on Friday night, the Vikes were able to shut the Heat down late to deny any chance of a comeback. The Heat were out-rebounded 8-2 in the fourth quarter, and the Victoria defence was consistently in the face of the UBCO shooters. As a result, the Heat were only able to score once in the final five minutes, with Emma Johnson making a layup with just under a minute left.
Tamminen was the Heat’s high scorer on Saturday night, finishing with 13 points. Kennedy was close behind, with 12, and Botteselle rounded out the top three with 10.
Nicole Karstein led the Vikes offence, with a game-high 17 points. Jenne Bugiardini put up another 15 for the visitors, and finished just a rebound shy of a double-double. Jenna Krug also put up double digits, finishing with 12 points.
The UBC Okanagan Heat (2-12) have a bye week next week, and will play their next games on the road when they travel to take on the Lethbridge Pronghorns (4-10) on January 27 & 28. The Victoria Vikes’ (8-4) next games will also be against Lethbridge, in Victoria on January 20 & 21.
The UBC Okanagan men’s basketball team lost both games against the University of Victoria Vikes this weekend, falling Saturday night by a final score of 75-65 in Kelowna.
The Heat’s Canada West record is now 2-12, and the Vikes improve to 4-8 so far this season.
The Heat came into the fourth quarter down 62-45. With 30 seconds left, they were down 70-65. The UBC Okanagan defence was able to shut down the Vikes shooters throughout most of the quarter, while the Heat shooters were finding their stroke. A pair of three-pointers from Triston Matthews brought the Heat within eight, 64-56, with six minutes left. Austin Penrose made it a six-point game with just over three minutes left, and Buzz Truss brought them within five with half a minute to go. That was where the momentum swung back to Victoria again, though, as the Vikes made five of six free throws in the final seconds to close the game out.
Had Victoria not come out at their best early in the game, that comeback in the fourth quarter may have been enough for a Heat win. However, the first quarter saw UBCO outscored 23-4. Despite the Heat’s 22-16 edge in the second quarter, the Vikes held a 39-26 lead at half-time.
Grant Sitton led the Victoria scorers, finishing with a game-high 24 points. Behind him was Justin Kinnear, who earned a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Taylor Montgomery-Stinson also finished in double digits, with 12 points.
Aldrich Berrios finished with a team-high 23 points for the Heat, while Ryan Morck put scored 11 points on a perfect five-for-five shooting night from the field.
Statistically, Saturday night’s game was a more even split than Friday night’s. The Heat were out-rebounded 40-32, but finished ahead in assists, 13-9, and shot better from the field (45.6% - 41%) and from the free-throw line (62.5% - 62.1%).
The UBC Okanagan Heat (2-8) have next weekend off, and will play next at the University of Lethbridge Pronghorns (8-6) on January 27 & 28. The University of Victoria Vikes (8-4) also play their next games against Lethbridge, on January 20 & 21 in Victoria.
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