Heat women’s volleyball earns split with Brandon

The UBC Okanagan Heat women’s volleyball team bounced back on Saturday to beat the visiting Brandon Bobcats in four sets (25-20, 25-23, 24-26, 25-23)) and earn a split of their two-game weekend set at The Furnace.

Led once again by the combination of Ann Richards and Jade Bussard, UBCO built up an early lead by winning the first two sets and then closed out Brandon in impressive fashion.

Richards and Bussard finished the match with double-doubles: Richards with 15 kills and 10 digs, while the rookie Bussard had 13 of each.

“The team’s doing the right things, the players are working as hard as they possibly can out there,” said Heat head coach Steve Manuel, noting his team is learning to close out games.

“I’ve always said, as a coach, the hardest thing to teach is how to win, so for us we have a lot of changes, even after the season started. Winning is huge and we’re starting to get a sense of how to win.”

The match came down to hitting percentage, as the Heat committed six fewer attack errors (19-25), which translated to a much better attack percentage (.221 to .142).

The Heat (2-8) women are on the road in Saskatoon this weekend for their final action prior to the Christmas break as they take on the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-7). The UBCO men’s volleyball team (0-10) will be seeking their first win of the season in Saskatoon.