Lance Doucet, Dinos Communications

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team put in a complete team effort on Saturday night at the Jack Simpson Gym, propelling them to a straight sets win (25-21, 25-13, 25-15) over the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Coming off a 3-1 win on Friday, which saw multiple sets go deep, Dinos head coach Rod Durrant was looking for a more consistent effort from his team, which was exactly what he got.

The Dinos hit .441 as a team, including a staggering .643 in the final set, capping off a convincing decision.

"I liked the way our team played tonight. We have struggled on Saturdays, but we came out and played steady and our serving was really good," commented Durrant. "It was a good way to finish this stretch, we have been pressed a lot the last five weekends. I am very pleased to find two wins against a tough Saskatchewan team."

The win sees the No. 4 Dinos improve their record to 7-3, while the Huskies remain winless at 0-8.

The opening set was the Huskies' best of the night as they overcome an early deficit to make things close mid-way through the frame. The Dinos led by as many as six early, but Saskatchewan responded to cut the lead to three in the later stages. Calgary continued to press and never surrendered their edge on the scoreboard, taking the set 25-21.

The second and third sets almost mirrored each other, with the Dinos easily taking both sets. Saskatchewan was held to a .000 hitting efficiency in both sets and struggled to handle the Calgary attack.

The Dinos took the first seven points of the second set, eventually taking it 25-13. In the third, Calgary picked up points in bunches en route to the sweep.

Alex Bader had a team-leading eight kills for the Dinos, while Calvin Siebert and Tim Taylor each had seven kills. Blain Cranston finished the night with 28 assists. 

The Huskies got nine kills from Matthew Meyer.

Calgary will be on a bye next weekend before returning to action on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 for games against the UBCO Heat. The Huskies will be at home next weekend for games versus the Mount Royal Cougars.

"It is a massive weekend for us," said Durrant when asked about earning a sweep ahead of the bye. "When we are at home we need to defend home court and we did a good job of that."

Photo Credit: David Moll