Brandon, MB – Nimo Benne notched a season high in kills and aces on Friday, as the UFV Cascades battled the Brandon University Bobcats all night, but it was the Bobcats that came out on top in the marathon fifth set to pick up the victory.

The Cascades fell by set scores of 25-16, 15-25, 25-22, 19-25, and 21-23, as their record moves to 4-7, while the Bobcats improve to 7-4 this season.

How it happened:
Consecutive kills from Tyson Ardell, and then one apiece from Nimo Benne, Caleb Kastelein, and Jonas Van Huizen helped the Cascades grab a 13-6 lead in the first. After trading points, Kastelein found a kill and a pair of aces to make it 22-14, and a Jonas Van Huizen block ended the set 25-16.

Brandon flew out to a 16-6 lead in the second. A pair of blocks from Paycen Warkentin and Jens Watt helped them increase that lead to 23-10, and despite a late push from the Cascades, another block from Warkentin and Riley Grusing finished it 25-15.

Brandon led 12-9 in the third, but a side-out and back-to-back aces from Ryan Hampe pulled UFV level and forced a Bobcats timeout. A pair of kills from Nimo Benne helped the Cascades snatch an 18-15 lead. Brandon squared it up at 20 after a Jens Watt kill. A kill and an ace from Nimo Benne gave the Cascades the edge late and the finished off the set 25-22.

Kills from Watt and Philip Lauter gave the Bobcats an early 7-4 lead in the fourth. Benne and Watt went toe to toe through the middle portion of the set, trading kills back-and-forth for their teams, but It Brandon that held a 17-11 lead. That advantage remained as they sent it to a fifth set 25-19.

The Bobcats opened with the first four points of the set. Ryan Hampe responded with a pair of kills to make it 5-2 and kills from Ardell and Benne cut the Cascades deficit back to just one. Brandon retook a three-point lead at 10-7, and consecutive kills from Nimo Benne pulled the Cascades back level at 10. Paycen Warkentin found a kill and a block to help re-establish a three-point lead at 13-10, but two kills from Nimo Benne and a kill and a block from Hampe evened the score at 15. After trading points, the Cascades earned match points of their own that were cancelled out by kills from Lauter and Grusing. In the end, it took eight match points, from the Bobcats, but they eventually eked out the 23-21 win.  

Top Performers:
Nimo Benne posted match-highs in kills (21) and aces (3) while adding four blocks and 11 digs to lead UFV. Tyson Ardell notched 10 kills and three blocks, while Caleb Kastelein had nine kills, three aces, and 11 digs in the contest. Reece Wilson (seven digs) and Max Paddock (43 assists), who both hail from Brandon and were making their first visit to the Bobcats in the regular season, each had strong nights as well for the Cascades.

Jens Watt led the way for the Bobcats with 16 kills and eight digs, while Tom Friesen posted 13 kills and Paycen Warkentin added 11.

Quotable:
"We have gone through a lot these last couple of weeks with sickness, injury, and emotions. The battle tonight showed a lot of the character that this group has, and I'm proud of them. I think that's a growth point in our program and our team, because in the past this isn't a match that we would have been in. I'm happy with the way we played, and obviously disappointed with the way it ended, but I think we deserved a better result after a match like that."

"The big character growth is going to be how we come out tomorrow after an emotional loss like that."

Up Next:
The two teams battle once again on Saturday to end the fall semester. Match time is set for 4:45p.m. PT on Canada West TV.