The University of Regina's women's volleyball team came out strong against Winnipeg on Saturday night, but the Cougars ended up falling in four to the Wesmen in a Canada West match at the Duckworth Centre.

Head coach Melanie Sanford made two changes to the opening rotation with Nya Chiek and Devyn Grimsrud both getting their first Canada West starts. The move paid immediate dividends as the Cougars controlled the opening set and took it by a score of 25-20.

It looked as though the Cougars might take a two-set lead over Winnipeg after collecting four straight points with Cassadi Klapak on serve to go up 20-15, but the Wesmen replied with seven of the next eight points and pulled out a 27-25 win to square the match at a set apiece.

Winnipeg kept that momentum going with a 25-11 win in the third set, then clinched the match with a 25-22 victory in the fourth. Ashleigh Laube and Selva Planincic both had 16 kills to lead the Wesmen, who move to 2-0 for the season with the weekend sweep over Regina.

Jessica Lerminiaux had a monster of a match for the Cougars, finishing with 20 kills while hitting .275 and also collecting nine digs. Chiek and Caitlyn Spurr both added eight kills for Regina.

The Cougars will have next weekend off and will return to action on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 against Brandon for what will be their only home weekend of the calendar year.