CALGARY – In an extremely tight matchup between two of Canada West’s perennial leaders, the Brandon Bobcats just edged out the University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team Saturday evening with a 3-1 win from the Jack Simpson Gym.
It was a deceptive final score, as all four sets were decided by just two points, with a pair of frames heading into extras. In the end, it was the Bobcats overcoming an early setback for the win, 24-26, 28-26, 25-23, 25-23.
Zach Evans led the Dinos in points this match with 17 kills, two blocks and six digs. Louis Kunstmann followed not far behind with 11 kills, two blocks, and six digs.
The Bobcats’ Liam Pauls had an impressive game with 18 kills, two blocks and seven digs, with Riley Grusing not far behind in the stat sheet with 14 kills, five blocks and four digs.
It was a strong performance by each setter on the night, as JJ Love amassed 52 assists and seven digs for the Bobcats, while Zack Durrant had 40 assists and nine digs for the Dinos.
The Dinos started off set one strong with kills from Ethan Czepuryck and Zach Evans. Evans managed six kills with a .400 hitting percentage and brought the set home with a right-side cross-court kill for a 26-24 set score.
Set two saw the Bobcats come back ready to swing as they managed 15 kills and four blocks. Things went into extras where Jens Watt closed things out with an ace for the 28-26 win.
Into the third set, another close score of 23-25 would end with a Bobcats kill. The Bobcats out swung the Dinos with 37 attack attempts and 18 kills, while the Dinos managed 28 and 12.
Set four saw a back-and-forth effort from both teams with 13 kills each, but would end with another kill by Watt for a 23-25 set score to match set three.
“When you’re out there, it’s really hard to see everything that’s going on, but you just need to stay focused.” Zach Evans said after the game. “I think that block was something that I could see, and I feel I did a good job navigating around it.
“We gave it our all and it was a hard fight, but we all played well so it’s a bittersweet loss. We’ll get it next time.”
Next up the Dinos go on the road to Kelowna to face off the UBC Okanagan Heat next weekend.
The Bobcats will remain out West as they venture to Langley to play the Trinity Western Spartans.
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