Fourth-set rally spurs Dinos to victory

ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – The University of Calgary Dinos came back from the brink of defeat for a thrilling five-set win over the UFV Cascades on Saturday night at the UFV Athletic Centre. 

The win sees the Dinos move to 5-9 on the season, while the loss drops the Cascades record to 3-11. 

The Cascades grabbed an 8-2 lead in the first, but Calgary battled back to cut the deficit to three at 21-18 before going on to score seven of the next nine points, including two kills each from Erik Godwin and Lincoln Baines, to take it 25-23.

The teams traded blows in the second, but it was UFV taking control in the late stage of the set, scoring eight of the final 10 points to grab the second set 25-21.

UFV gained a 19-15 edge in the middle portion of the third set before finishing it off 25-20.

The Cascades looked to have the match in their hands with a 24-21 lead in the fourth, but a side out and a serving run buy Zack Durant was punctuated by an ace as they came back to win the set 26-24.

Calgary carried that momentum into the fifth and never trailed in the decisive final frame. They built a 7-4 lead before extending it to 10-5 and eventually closing out the match 15-11.

Nimo Benne carried the bulk of the offence for the Cascades in this one, notching an incredible 29 kills on 60 total attacks with only four errors. He also added one ace, and eight digs in the effort. 

Caleb Kastelein added 10 kills, and Ryan Hampe had six kills and five blocks for UFV.

Louis Kunstmann had a team-high 14 kills and added six blocks and 10 digs in the match for the Dinos. Zack Durant posted a game-high five aces, while teammate Jackson Meier had nine kills and eight blocks, and Erik Godwin notched 11 kills for the visitors.

The Cascades now head to Edmonton to face the MacEwan Griffins on Friday and Saturday, while the Dinos will play host to Winnipeg next week. All Canada West matches are available to be streamed live on Canada West TV.

-UC-