Box Score KELOWNA - The host UBC Okanagan Heat picked up a five-set marathon win 3-2 (25-20, 21-25, 22-25, 27-25, 15-9)  over the Brandon University Bobcats to complete the weekend sweep Saturday night.
 
The Heat were out of the gate strong in a first set where they dominated on offense to keep the Bobcats guessing. However, some minor adjustments on their offense coupled with a defensive effort on the team blocks stymied the Heat as the Bobcats clawed back in the second and third sets for a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth set looked much the same for the Bobcats until Heat coach Steve Manuel opted for a younger-laden group on the court that included rookies Kaitlynn Given (Kelowna, BC), Megan Festival (Calgary, AB), and setter Emily Oxland (North Vancouver, BC) alongside second-year Katie Wuttunee (North Vancouver, BC). The Heat's fortunes turned as they grinded to a 27-25 victory in the fourth set to force a fifth.
 
The fifth set featured the usual cast of veterans again and the Heat cruised to an early victory after figuring out Brandon's adjustments on defense.

Basso fought for most of the night, and eventually finished with a team-high 16 kills. The aforementioned younger Festival sister came slightly behind with 13 kills on the night. Though she did not play as well as she has of late, Oxland recorded a game-high 53 assists for her squad—a testament to how good she is when you can call this an off-night for the rookie setter.
 
The Bobcats' defense out-blocked the Heat 25.0 to 13.0, the most glaring and impressive stat for the night. Fourth-year Middle Alexis Loewen and third-year left-side hitter Victoria Dakin recorded 12 and 10 kills each, respectively, and fourth-year setter Kellie Baker had 33 assists in the effort for the Brandon team.
 
The night marked the final regular season game for Alex Basso, who will be graduating with a Bachelor in Human Kinetics. However, it will not be the last time Heat fans will get to see her at home.
 
Since the UBC Thunderbirds dispatched the Mount Royal Cougars at War Memorial gymnasium, the win for the Heat leapfrogs them into the fourth seed just ahead of the Cougars and they will now host Mount Royal for a playoff best-of-three series next Thursday, Friday and Saturday-if needed.
 
The Bobcats have now been eliminated from playoff contention after a hard-fought season in a tough Canada West conference. They do not boast any fifth-year faces and will likely have much of their roster intact for next season.