CALGARY – They trailed after one set and after three sets, but the No. 9 University of Calgary Dinos would not be denied as they came up with a 3-2 victory (24-26, 25-16, 23-25, 25-22, 15-6) against the No. 3 University of Manitoba Bisons at the Jack Simpson Gym.
Saturday's game was the Dinos first taste of adversity this season after surrendering only one set through their first three games. With the win, Calgary improves their record to 4-0, defeating a Manitoba team that falls to 1-3 after only losing three games all of last season.
"We got pushed by a very good team that has a lot of experience," explained Dinos head coach Rod Durrant. "We struggled in a couple of areas and made some very good adjustments. In the fourth and fifth sets our blocks picked up and we were able to dig some balls in the back row."
Alex Bader, Regan Fathers, and Tim Taylor were the top contributors for the Dinos with 19, 18, and 14 kills respectively. On the opposite side of the court, Scott Vercaigne had a massive night for the Bisons with 25 kills.
Neither side was able to take command of the first set as the two sides traded small runs early. The set would go into extra points where Manitoba was able to score a quick two points.
As the game went along, Calgary's play got better and better. The Dinos hit 30 and 37 percent in the second and third sets, but could only secure a win in the second set, meaning they would need big effort to force a fifth set.
The Dinos scored the first five points of the fourth set and managed to ride that lead until the end of the frame, giving them momentum going into the fifth.
Playing with tons of energy, Calgary took a commanding lead in the fifth, going on three runs of four or more points en route to the win.
"Every weekend you have to bring your best [in Canada West] or you give the opponent the opportunity to beat you," said Durrant. "We played really hard, the guys left it all out there and played for each other. We are still learning and trying to be more consistent, but it was a good weekend for us."
The Dinos hit the road next weekend, travelling to Vancouver to face the UBC Thunderbirds from Nov. 3-4.
Manitoba will be on a bye next week and will not play their next games until Nov. 10-11 when they visit the Alberta Golden Bears.