Wesmen Down VReds 3-1

(FREDERICTON, NB) The visiting University of Winnipeg Wesmen beat the UNB Varsity Reds 3-1, in exhibition men's volleyball at the Currie Center, Wednesday night.

The Wesmen downed the Varsity Reds 25-22, 21-25, 25-17 and 25-22, in the first of three exhibition matches the teams will play this week.

David Bommersbach(Winnipeg, MB) led the Wesmen with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Taylor Howe(Calgary, AB) registered 14 kills.

Tristen Burridge(Fort St. John, BC) led the UNB attack with 11 kills and 8 digs. Sam Alves(Melbourne, AUS) also had 11 kills for the Varsity Reds.

The match was the first for both sides after their respective Christmas breaks.

"I think it was a little bit of too much turkey," said Burridge, a senior outside hitter. "There's a couple of spots where we did okay, and there's a couple spots where we need to get better, for sure."

The win was the first for the Wesmen, 4-8 in Canada West play, since mid-November.

Wesmen head coach Larry McKay feels it might've come at just the right time.

"We've had a pretty decent first half without getting a lot of wins," said McKay. "I've been telling them, if they keep doing the same things they have in the first half, they'll get rewarded. Hopefully, we'll start seeing some more wins."

The Varsity Reds and Wesmen face each other again Thursday. First serve is scheduled for 7:00PM, at the Richard J. Currie Center.

"Momentum is a funny thing, getting the snowball rolling in the right direct, and this is definitely a good thing for us," said McKay.

Burridge feels the Varsity Reds can be better.

"They hit a lot of cross court shots, and if we get our blocks there, then I think we can get them," he said.