BRANDON, Man. – The defending Canada West champion Bobcats kept their perfect record intact after sweeping the Winnipeg Wesmen on Thursday night at the Healthy Living Centre.
 
The set scores were 25-14, 25-15 and 28-26.
 
"We were pretty well rounded as a team," said rookie libero Jens Watt. "It is going to keep getting harder from here. Canada West is a tough league and we need to bring our A game every night."
 
The nationally second-ranked Bobcats opened the first with a big lead at the technical timeout at 16-7. BU built a 19-9 advantage and cruised to victory in the opener while posting a .519 hitting percentage.
 
The second set was more of the same. The 'Cats led 8-4 and doubled their lead to 16-8 at the technical timeout. Brandon's 5-0 run down the stretch gave them a comfortable cushion and the offence rolled at .483 in the middle frame.
 
Brandon was pushed to the limit in the third set as Winnipeg held the lead late. Both teams had opportunities to win the set, but the Bobcats came out on top. Robin Baghdady's kill allowed BU to fight off set point and tie it 26-26. National player of the year Elliott Viles dialed up a service ace and Baghdady followed it up with the match winning point in overtime.
 
Baghdady led all scorers with 17 kills, while Viles was next with 12 kills and three aces for the Bobcats, who upped their unbeaten mark to 5-0.
 
"I think we need games like that," said Baghdady. "We didn't have games like that in the regular season last year and when the playoffs rolled around we struggled and had tough games. It is good for us to have games and sets like that early on."
 
Meanwhile, Daniel Thiessen had 13 kills and former Crocus Plainsmen star Liam Kristjanson added nine kills as the Wesmen slipped to 1-4.
 
Brandon and Winnipeg conclude the home-and-home series at the U-of-W on Saturday.