Wesmen Sweep Reds
Second 3-0 win in as many nights
(FREDERICTON, NB) The visiting Winnipeg Wesmen scored a 3-0 victory over the UNB Reds in exhibition men's volleyball, at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center, on Thursday.
Daniel Thiessen (Winnipeg, MB) registered 14 kills and eight digs to lead the Wesmen in their second win over the Reds in as many nights.
Thursday's win followed an identical 3-0 Winnipeg win on Wednesday.
"I knew we were going to struggle in some areas. I didn't know we were going to struggle as much as we did in the reception area," said Reds head coach Dan McMorran. "We couldn't pass. We couldn't pass at all."
On Thursday, the Wesmen picked up where they left off Wednesday, winning the first set 25-14.
They dominated play in the second set.
Winnipeg led 16-8 at the technical time-out of the second and went on to take the set 25-10.
That dominance continued in the third set, as the Wesmen completed the straight sets win with a 25-16 victory.
Mikael Clegg (St. Andrews, MB) registered 23 serve assists for Winnipeg, while Darian Picklyk (Birds Hill, MB) added a match-high nine digs.
Connor McConnell (Hanwell, NB) led the Reds with seven kills, while Steven Randall (Hanwell, NB) had six digs.
Freshman setter Jonah Winter (Valleyfield, NL) recorded 12 serve assists.
"We have the pieces, but if the pieces can't pass the ball, it's a long day," said McMorran. "We were out of system all match and when we were in system, our young guys went with predictable sets because we were so seldom in system that we became fairly predictable with what we were doing."
Thursday's match concludes a six-match eastern Canadian tour for the Wesmen, who dropped the first two matches at Laval before reeling off four straight 3-0 wins against Dal and UNB.
"We got to play one of the best teams in the region," said Wesmen head coach Larry McKay. "Fortunately for us, they're right at the beginning of their exhibition play, but they're going to be excellent."
Winnipeg now returns home and will focus on preparations for their November 2nd Canada West season-opener.
The Reds open their regular season schedule the same night, hosting Sherbrooke.
"I'm glad we had these two matches, because it shows where we are when it comes to game-speed stuff against a good opponent," said McMorran.
RECAP AND PHOTOS: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics