BRANDON – The Brandon Bobcats picked up a straight sets win over their provincial rival the Winnipeg Wesmen on Thursday night to open a Canada West men's volleyball home-and-home series.
 
The set scores were 25-17, 25-16 and 25-22.
 
The Bobcats grabbed the momentum right off the bat at the Healthy Living Centre. They picked up five straight points to go into the technical timeout leading 16-10. The host team carried that confidence for the remainder of the opener to win the first set.
 
The second set followed a similar script with the Bobcats setting the tone early with a 7-1 run. Brandon's advantage was 16-12 at the technical timeout, before they picked up the pace late. BU won nine of the next 13 points to push Winnipeg to the brink.
 
Brandon busted out of the gate in the third set with an early 8-2 lead. BU got to the technical timeout with a 16-13 advantage and they held steady going into the crucial point of the contest. The Bobcats then picked up three consecutive points to go up 24-20. The Wesmen staved off match point twice after that, but could not complete their comeback.
 
James Weir scored seven kills and added six total blocks for the Bobcats, while Reece Dixon delivered a match-high 32 assists for BU.
 
BU also received a solid 1-2 offensive punch courtesy Matt Powell and Roy Ching. The duo collected 11 kills each as Brandon improved their conference record to 6-and-3.
 
The top scorer for the Wesmen was Brendan Thielman with six kills and Logan Brennan had a match-high 12 digs as Winnipeg slipped to 4-and-5.
 
The Bobcats travel down the Trans-Canada Highway on Friday to meet the Wesmen in the rematch. Match time is 6 p.m. at the U-of-W.