Pizza Place Players of the Week
Men’s Volleyball – Stephen Ens
The fifth year outside, consistently one of the best hitters in the Canada West Conference, had 33 kills and 14 digs while leading the No. 5 ranked Wesmen to a split with the No. 4 ranked Trinity Western Spartans on the weekend.
Women’s Basketball – JoAnne Wells
JoAnne averaged 20 points and 6.5 rebounds in two wins over the Brandon Bobcats on the weekend. The fourth year guard, and Nan Copp Award candidate as the outstanding Women’s Basketball player in the CIS, went 18 for 22 from the field – averaging out to just over 80% - an incredible field goal percentage for a guard.
Women’s Basketball
After sweeping the Brandon Bobcats last week, the Wesmen now face some stiff competition in their remaining six games of the Canada West Conference season.
And it starts with two big games against archrivals Manitoba, starting Thursday at the Duckworth Centre in the annual Duckworth Challenge, and finishing at Manitoba on Saturday night. The Wesmen lead the season series with the No. 6 ranked Bisons, winning two games and losing once. Manitoba, 7-7, is coming off two losses to the No. 3 ranked Regina Cougars. Winnipeg, sporting an 11-3 record, has won 12 games in a row. On Saturday night at the Duckworth Centre the Wesmen beat up on the Bobcats 75-59, behind JoAnne Wells’ 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and sister Janet’s 14 points. On Thursday in Brandon, JoAnne again led the way with 20 points and 6 rebounds, while Kate Daniels chipped in with 13 points and 7 boards. After the two games with the Bisons, which promise to be intense hard fought contests, the Wesmen face No. 3 Regina, No. 1 UBC and No. 4 Victoria in a lead-up to the Canada West Conference playoffs.
Men’s Volleyball
The No. 5 ranked Wesmen picked up a split with the Trinty West Spartans in two matches played in Langley, B.C. on the weekend. On Friday night the Wesmen knocked off the Spartans 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-15), behind 15 kills and 4 digs from fifth year outside Stephen Ens, and 13 kills from fifth year veteran Cam Dobie. On Saturday night, the Wesmen and No. 4 ranked Spartans went at it again, and this time Trinity Western escaped with a 3-2 (28-30, 25-15, 26-24, 27-29, 15-12) victory. This time third year outside Dave Bishop led the way with 19 kills and 9 digs, while Ens was solid again with 18 kills and 10 digs. Winnipeg, 7-7, and in fourth place in the Canada West Conference (the top six make the playoffs) now faces the Regina Cougars in a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday at the Duckworth Centre.
Men’s Basketball
The Wesmen came close to knocking off the Brandon Bobcats on the weekend. Forward Michael Gomez nailed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to give Winnipeg a 76-75 lead, but a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining, gave Brandon a 77-76 victory. It was a disappointing loss for the Wesmen – but a game where the team played hard to final whistle. Fourth year wing Dave Brar led Winnipeg with 19 points and rookie guard Matt Opalko added 15. On Thursday in Brandon, Winnipeg lost 86-69. Rookie guard Marlon Richards had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, while Gomez added 11 points and 6 boards in that contest. The Wesmen, 0-14, host the 7-7 Manitoba Bisons on Thursday night in the annual Duckworth Challenge. The last time the two teams met, in the Wesmen Classic semi-final, Winnipeg came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat the Bisons 64-59. The second game of the home and home series goes Saturday night at the University of Manitoba.
Women’s Volleyball
The No. 6 ranked Women’s Volleyball team had the bye last week in the Canada West Conference. The 6-8 Wesmen currently sit in fourth spot in the conference, two points up on Manitoba and Regina with six matches remaining in the season. The top six teams make the playoffs. Winnipeg faces the No. 5 ranked Regina Cougars this weekend. The Cougars lost both their matches to No. 7 ranked Manitoba on Friday and Saturday. The last time the Cougars and Wesmen met in Regina, Winnipeg was weakened by the flu, but this time they are healthy, hungry and determined to avenge the losses.