BRANDON, Man. – The Brandon Bobcats got a big win Friday night after fighting off two match points from the UBC-Okanagan Heat to notch their first win of the conference season.
 
The Heat nearly served themselves to victory in the fifth set, but the scrappy Bobcat defence fought it off to take the match 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 17-15).
 
The win is Brandon's first of the conference season and couldn't come at a more important time as this weekend is the final matches before the December break.
 
"It's a big one, and I think we celebrated and should be thankful for everything that happened tonight," said third-year libero Caitlin Le.
 
"Even thought it's just one it's a huge weight lifted off our shoulders."
 
Le's match-high 19 digs add to her conference lead, but more importantly it gives the Bobcats a big win at a crucial point of the season.
 
"It's just been a matter of time. We've put the same amount of hours that they do. Everyone on our team does, so it's just in this league everyone says it, anyone can beat anyone, and it was just our time," said fourth-year outside Rayvn Wiebe.
 
"It's the encouragement we needed."
 
The first set was evenly matched as the visitors took it 25-22, but the second set saw the most energy from Brandon in weeks as Le's spectacular defence helped steady the Bobcat passing game and offence.
 
Jamie Bain served tough for BU, keeping the Heat out of system in the third and the fourth. but then Heat head coach Steve Manuel used both time-outs early in the fourth as one last attempt to rally his team.

And it worked.
 
After trailing by as much as five points late in the fourth frame, Amaya Perry served the Heat to a 25-23 set win to force the fifth.
 
Brandon jumped to an early lead in the fifth before Perry served the Heat to match point, but the Bobcats would not be denied as Wiebe ended the match with two consecutive aces of her own.
 
Wiebe's 18 kills were a match-high while Danielle Larocque added 10 attack points.
 
The Heat were led by Jade Bussard's team-high 16 kills. Hellen Lacava finished with 13 kills and Perry finished with five aces.
 
The win moves Brandon's record to 1-10 while UBC-Okanagan sits at 5-6.
 
The two teams meet again Saturday in Brandon with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m.