Courtesy of Manitoba Bisons Sports Information

The Bisons faced the Mount Royal University Cougars for the first time this year at Investors Group Athletic Centre Friday night and won in straight sets, 25-22, 25-23 and 25-23. 

With the win, the Bisons are now 7-0 this season, while the Cougars fall to 4-3 with their third straight loss. 

Manitoba's Devren Dear led both teams with 15 kills, while Mount Royal's Jordan Parkin followed closely behind with 13.  

The Bisons were hot from the first play of the game, when Josh Crellin found the court with a massive kill. Crellin had two more in the set, and Dear led Manitoba's strong offense with five kills in the first alone, but the Bisons struggled defensively. Missed digs and shaky blocks from the home side kept the match close, but the Bisons never trailed in the set, winning the first 25-22. 

In the second, Mount Royal seemed to learn from Manitoba's earlier defensive mistakes. The Cougars took an early set lead after forcing reception errors from the Bisons' back row. But the Bisons weren't done yet. Dear came through with a powerful kill to tie the game at 7, and a few rallies later, Adam DeJonckheere put up a similar attack from the left side to tie the game at 9. 

But from there, the Cougars won five straight rallies before the Bisons put up a streak of their own. DeJonckheere served four times in a row before he shanked a hit and surrendered possession. The Bisons and Cougars stayed neck-and-neck through the rest of the set, but it was another huge kill from Dear who gave Manitoba a 24-23 lead. The Bisons brought it home a serve later, winning the set 25-24. 

But the third began a lot like the second. Mount Royal's attackers found the court early, and the Cougars took a 10-5 lead before the Bisons retaliated. Thanks to better court coverage and service aces from Dear and Falconer, Manitoba led 16-15 at the technical timeout. The teams battled back-and-forth for the rest of the set, until the Bisons broke forth with a 24-21 lead. But the Cougars held the set at match point for three rallies before serving long and sealing the Bisons' 25-23 set win.

When asked about the team's defensive struggles, Bison head coach Garth Pischke said it's something they "still have to figure out." 

"We can't get down every set and then expect to come back," he said. "It was a little concerning in the second set, but especially in the third when [the Cougars] had a good stranglehold on the game."  

The Bisons will look to toughen up defensively and remain undefeated when they play the Cougars in their second game of the weekend on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. at Investors Group Athletic Centre.