CALGARY - The University of Winnipeg Wesmen fought a tough battle to take a victory over the Mount Royal University Cougars on Kenyon Court. 

The set scores were (WPG-MRU): 19-24, 25-18, 25-19, and 25-17.

For Mount Royal, Chris Byam led with 15 points and 14 kills, followed by Trent Mounter with 13.5 points and 13 kills. For Winnipeg, Daniel Thiessen and Ethan Duncan led with 15.5 points each, Thiessen with 11 kills and Duncan with 13. 

Mount Royal took a moment to find their momentum early in the first while Winnipeg earned some strong kills from Thiessen. The Wesmen pulled ahead for a moment until a series of kills from the Cougars lineup, matching their score. Mount Royal pulled ahead into a slight lead after 15 points and stuck the set with a final kill from Mounter. 

The Wesman opened the second with a kill from Mikael Clegg. They capitalized on strong communication to slowly sneak away into a lead thanks to some well-timed kills. Mount Royal was struggling to match their pace, but Luis Lange found some opportunities to chip away at the Wesmen lead. Winnipeg took advantage of some Cougars errors to take a healthy step ahead for the second set. 

The two teams traded points in the second until the Wesmen pulled away at 10 points with a quick kill from Liam Kristjanson. Mount Royal regrouped to narrow the score, but Winnipeg managed to stay ahead by at least two points. A final series of kills from the entire Wesmen lineup sealed the set in their favour. 

Mount Royal found their pace in the fourth, but were overwhelmed by a fierce onslaught from the Wesmen, securing their wide lead early on. The Cougars capitalized on a few service errors to come forward and nail some points of their own. Mount Royal was working hard in the final points, but the Wesmen finished it off with a kill from Nigel Nielsen. 

The teams will face off once more on Saturday, February 15th, on Kenyon Court. It will be broadcasted live on CanadaWest.tv, presented by Co-op.