Bears down Dinos with hard-fought 3-1 victory

EDMONTON – Third-year Isaac Heslinga paced the U SPORTS #2 ranked Bears with a game-high 22 kills in a 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-23) victory over the Calgary Dinos Saturday night at the Saville Centre.

With the win Alberta moves to 13-5, good for second in the Canada West. Calgary drops to 7-11, and maintain their position in tenth.

Heslinga was joined in the good performance by second-year Jacob Sargeant who had 15 kills of his own. The Dinos were paced by Louis Kunstmann who had a team-high 17 kills.

The opening set was a remarkable display of offensive prowess from both sides, as they hit a cumulative .465 and were able to get past the front row with ease. It was a close frame, with seven ties and three lead changes, but the visiting Dinos were able to string together an impressive late set to win 25-21. Setter Anders Bouck was instrumental in the set win, recording 11 assists and orchestrating favorable sets for Dinos like Kuntstmann, who tied for the set lead in kills with four. Liam Espedido and Jacob Sargeant were the kill leaders for the Bears, with four a piece.

It was remarkably a closer set in the second, featuring 10 ties and three lead changes. Both sides had runs of their own to get the score to 23-23, but from there Heslinga recorded two straight kills to lead the Bears to a 25-23 win. Heslinga led all players with six kills in the frame, while Kunstmann paced the Dinos with four.

The Bears heated up in the third, getting offensive contributions from Heslinga and Espedido who had six and four kills respectively. While Calgary was incredibly strong in the front row on defence (4.5 total blocks to the Bears 1.0), Alberta would take the set 25-19. Kunstmann again paced the Dinos with three kills, and he added three block contributions as well.

The fourth set was as close as the first two, as the Bears were able to finish the job with a score of 25-23. They hit .235 in the set, to the Dinos .400, but were buoyed by Heslinga who impressed with a set-high seven kills. The Dinos saw a great set from Kunstmann who almost matched Heslinga with six kills of his own. It came down to a 23-23 score once again, which a Heslinga kill and Sargeant block quickly turned into a 25-23 game and match victory.

The Bears travel across the North Saskatchewan River next weekend for a date with the MacEwan Griffins, while the Dinos have a bye week before finally returning home for the first time in a month to host Saskatchewan Feb. 2-3.

-UC-