Lance Doucet, Dinos Communications
CALGARY – The No. 4 University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team and the No. 2 Brandon Bobcats went punch-for-punch on Saturday night at the Jack Simpson Gym in a five-set instalment between two of the conference's top teams.
Ultimately, it was the Dinos who came out on top, as they put together a stellar performance in the final set to secure a 3-2 win (24-26, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 15-10) to split the weekend set.
"I loved our fight, I loved our character in the fourth and fifth, we did not go away," said Dinos head coach Rod Durrant. "This group, when they believe in themselves, we can play well. Brandon is a good team and we were able to play with them tonight."
Third-year outside hitter Tim Taylor led all Dinos with 17 kills to go along with eight digs and two assists. Alex Bader played a key supporting role in the win, compiling 13 kills and digs.
Elliott Viles notched 19 kills, while teammate Seth Friesen had 17 for the Bobcats. Viles also led his side with 13 digs.
Much like Friday night's game, which saw the Bobcats beat the Dinos in straight sets, the opening set saw a late push by Brandon to nab the early advantage. With the score even 19-19, Calgary was able to take the lead off a series of attack errors by Brandon, putting the home side up 22-19.
The second-ranked team in the country was able to collect themselves after a timeout and answered back to even the score 24-24. From there, Brandon took advantage of back-to-back errors by Calgary to take the set 26-24.
In a big bounce-back effort, the Dinos managed to hang on to a small lead throughout the entire second set, eventually building a five-point gap late. Taylor finished the set off with a kill, making the score 25-21.
"We were playing right with them in the first set and we bounced back really well in the second – it was a big set to win," explained Durrant.
The Dinos carried that momentum into the third set as they built up an early 5-1 edge. A series of runs by the Bobcats allowed them to catch up on the scoreboard and take the lead at 16-15 with a pair of kills by Viles ahead of the technical timeout.
A key substitution by Brandon saw Joel Makara come into the game and pick up three straight points for his team as they went on to take the third set 25-23.
A lead never got larger than two in the fourth set as the Dinos tried to force a fifth. On their third attempted set point, Calgary would not be denied as they recorded the 27-25 win off an attack error by Viles.
In the fifth set, the Dinos stormed out to an early lead, going up 8-4 halfway through. Taylor would put the exclamation point on his night with four kills in the set as Calgary took it 15-10.
"They do not go away, they dug every ball, they are a very scrappy team," commented Durrant when asked about his opponent. "You have to match their intensity and keep the pressure on them, which we found a way to do today."
With the split this weekend, the Dinos and Bobcats remain tied in the conference standings with 10-4 records.
The Dinos hit the road next weekend as they head to Edmonton to take on the Alberta Golden Bears. The Bobcats will return home where they will host the UBC Okanagan Heat.