CALGARY - After a disappointing five set loss last night to Thompson Rivers, the Dinos came back to defeat them 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 27-25) on Oct. 18 at Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
The No. 6 Dinos now improve to 3-1 while the WolfPack drop to 1-3.
Despite the score, the pesky WolfPack didn't let up, forcing the Dinos to play some good volleyball to get the wins.
"We talked a lot at the end of last night's match about playing every point with a purpose and that we have to create our own success," said Natalie Gurnsey, Dinos head coach. "Yesterday I felt like we were waiting for something to be given to us. I feel like we were still a little bit streaky with it, but for the most part we played every point the way we wanted to and that's what led us to a 3-0 win tonight."
Iuliia Pakhomenko was the only player from Thompson Rivers to reach double digits with 10 kills. She also had eight digs. Krista Hogewoning added nine kills and eight digs while liberl Tyneille Neufeld picked up a game-high nine digs.
For the Dinos, rookie Kate Pexman led the way for the Dinos with a game-high 14 kills on the night. Second-year Janna Ogle also reached double digits with 11 kills and seven digs. Setter Jordhynn Guy recorded 26 assists and seven digs while libero Amber Brown added a team-high eight digs in the match.
"Kate was once again really solid for us and I thought that both our middles did a great job at the net blocking. It might now reflect in our stuff blocks, but they slowed a bunch of balls down and they took away the cross court shot that killed us last night."
In the first, the Dinos took the lead from the get-go and found themselves up by six at the technical timeout. Despite some long rallies near the end of the set, Calgary easily took the lead with a 25-18 win.
The following set looked like the same pattern with the WolfPack unable to contain the Dinos offence including the likes of left side Pexman. Near the end of the set, the Dinos looked a little disorganized, allowing Thompson Rivers to gain some momentum. Calgary pulled it off 25-21 before the WolfPack could get any closer.
In the third it was much more of a battle for both teams with Thompson Rivers carrying over that momentum from the second. They came back from 15-10 to trail by just two points at the technical timeout. Tied at 18 and 20, the Dinos traded points with the visiting team until the WolfPack took a 25-24 lead. Gurnsey's choice of subbing Ali Woolley back in the match was a good one, as her first point back saw her get a huge block to tie it up at 25. The Dinos went on to win the next two points to earn the sweep.
Calgary heads out to Brandon next weekend when they take on the Bobcats, Oct. 24-25.