CALGARY – With several key contributors out of the lineup, the University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team fell 3-1 (16-25, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25) to the Mount Royal Cougars on Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
In place of some of their regular starters, Calgary saw noteworthy performances from Dominique Desautels who set a new career-high with 13 kills, and Alice Nikolaychuk who matched her career best with 13 of her own.
“All week we have been playing in different positions, having the setters in the middle, and since we are down some bodies we have all committed to going out there and giving everything we have,” explained Desautels. “For some of us, it is our first time starting – it is one of my first games – and we came out like we had nothing to lose.”
The setback sees the Dinos fall to a 3-6 record this year.
Friday night’s win was a crucial one for Mount Royal who recorded their second win of the season to improve to 2-7. Leading the way for the Cougars offensively was Jessica Osczevski with 12 kills.
The Cougars’ evening got off to an excellent start with an early 10-2 run, powered by four service aces – including three straight from Osczevski. Mount Royal finished the first set with six aces and hit a solid .286 to win convincingly 25-16.
Both sides traded leads in a competitive second set before the Cougars pulled away in the final points. With Calgary leading 20-19, Mount Royal scored six of the final seven points. Mya Morgan capped off the set, 25-21, with a kill.
The Dinos extended the match with an impressive third set. After jumping out to a 6-2 lead, the two Crowchild Classic rivals traded long runs, but that early start by Calgary was the difference. The home side pushed the lead to as large as five and with some strong serving earned a 25-20 win in the third.
Mount Royal countered in the fourth set with a fast start and five consecutive points early. The Dinos kept the score close but were never able to generate a long rally to flip the game as the visitors picked up a 25-21 victory to wrap up the night.
The Dinos and Cougars return to action on Saturday night with a 7:30 p.m. start at the Jack Simpson Gym.
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