Brandon, Man. – The defending conference champion Bobcats cruised to a straight sets victory against the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday night in Canada West men's volleyball action.
 
Seth Friesen and Robin Baghdady had 11 kills each as the Bobcats improved to 10-1. Friesen had seven digs and four blocks, while Baghdady added two service aces.
 
"We played with a lot of intensity and got off to a good start," said Friesen. "We played every point like we wanted, but there are still some things to clean up."
 
BU started strong in the opening set. The 'Cats won the offensive battle, outscoring the Heat in the kills category 14-6. Brandon's hitting percentage was .300 while UBCO finished .074.
 
The Bobcats jumped out to a big advantage in the middle frame up 7-0 out of the gate. Brandon had a comfortable 12-2 cushion and led 16-4 at the technical timeout on their way to winning the second set.
 
The third was back and forth until the Bobcats re-gained the momentum with a 6-2 charge to go in front 15-9. The Heat staved off three match points, but the comeback bid fell short.
 
Denham O'Reilly had five kills and six digs as the Heat slipped to 0-9.
 
"We came out a little too tense and we weren't able to find our rhythm right away," said third-year UBCO outside hitter Max Heppell. "We worked our way back into it in the third set, but it was a little too late."
 
The Bobcats and Heat meet in the rematch on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. to close out the first-half of the conference season.