‘Birds Drop Weekend Opener in Calgary

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 (30-28, 25-20, 19-25, 28-26) on Friday night at the Jack Simpson Gym.

Transitioning to the outside, Dinos sophomore Louis Kunstmann led the Dinos in kills with 17.

“It’s a lot of fun honestly. Obviously, it’s very unfortunate that Tyler [Funk] got hurt and I hope that he’s back as soon as possible,” said Kunstmann. “For me, it’s a whole new position, I’ve played middle my whole life, so it’s certainly a new challenge. The most challenging part is probably the passing but I really enjoy being out there more with the guys and being able to contribute more to the team.”

The Bad Soden, Germany native tallied eight of his 17 kills in the opening set, which set the tone for Calgary. The first set was a back-and-forth affair that stayed within three for the majority of the action. After Lincoln Baines whipped a ball through a UBC blockade to make it 23-21, Zack Durrant followed it up with a well-timed ace. UBC refused to go down without a fight, a trend that continued throughout the match, rallying back to tie the game at 24. After a run of five straight set points the Dinos were finally able to capitalize off a UBC error as Baines drove home a free ball to make it 30-28.

The Dinos carried the momentum into the second set, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead. As the set continued the Thunderbirds started to settle into the match and their offence began to find its form. Michael Dowhaniuk started to assert himself coming up with kills at key moments. However, the Dinos would once again come up clutch in front of the home crowd fans. Durrant cooked up another timely ace, bringing the score to 20-18. Kunstmann delivered the finishing blow to win the second set for the Dinos 25-20.

Dowhaniuk of UBC led all players with 19 kills on the evening.

The Thunderbirds cruised to a 25-19 third-set victory. In the set, UBC hit .367 while neutralizing Calgary’s attack as they hit .000 for the set.

The Dinos opened the fourth and final set with a 13-8 advantage. UBC took a timeout and that changed the outlook of the fourth frame. The Thunderbirds clawed their way back into the set and found themselves up 25-24. The Dinos fed off the energy of the crowd and were able to close out the game, thanks to the heroics of Erik Godwin. The second-year outside hitter registered the final two kills of the game, first by expertly pinpointing a hole in the UBC defence and second by going off the top of the UBC block. 

Calgary moves within one game of a .500 record at 9-10 following the win, while UBC slips to 11-8 in Canada West competition.

With both teams slated to face off again on Saturday, Kunstmann relayed the importance of continuing to play with energy.

“I really enjoyed the energy we brought tonight. I feel like everyone was excited to compete and excited to fight for a spot in the playoffs. We just have to bring that energy again. If we have that much fun as we did on the court tonight, get that excited, get that aggressive, we should be able to provide another good game”.

The rematch will begin at 6:45 p.m. from the Jack Simpson Gym.