Dinos down Bisons in five-set thriller

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team closed out the opening weekend in the Jack Simpson Gym Saturday night with a win over the defending Canada West Champions in the Manitoba Bisons. 

After falling down 2-1, the Dinos clawed back and rode a massive wave of momentum for the five-set win; 30-28, 17-25, 14-25, 25-21, 15-7.

Both teams move to 1-1 on the young season in the record column after it was Manitoba winning in five in Friday’s opener.

“Being able to get into a team room filled with cheers feels great,” Calgary outside hitter Ava Fontaine said.

Dominique Desautels paved the way for Calgary in Saturday’s game with a total of 19 kills with a .343 attack percentage to go with 12 digs. Rookie Sophia Hansen followed closely behind with 13 kills.

The opening set found the Bisons gaining on the Dinos before they caught up at 6-3 after a kill by Sophia Hansen and went point for point the rest of the way. Both teams were fighting for that two-point advantage. Going deep into extras, Hansen would go on to secure the set win for the Dinos with a service ace.

Manitoba bounced back in a big way. The Bisons hit .231 in the second and a whopping .577 in the third as it appeared they had gained control of this one with a 2-1 lead. In that third set, Manitoba jumped out to leads of 4-0, 10-3 and 16-7 as seemingly everything was working at that point with Andi Almonte leading the way with six of her game-high 21 kills coming in the frame. 

With their backs up against the wall, Ava Fontaine commented that rather than being disappointed, the Dinos had a fire ignite in them. “We employed our team cornerstones TRIC: Team driver, resilience, integrity, and competition.” 

The fourth proved to be a back-and-forth battle the whole way. In a set that featured five lead changes, it was the Dinos that created the separation late. The Bisons carried a 16-14 lead after a block by Ella Gray and Eve Catojo, but Calgary responded with a 6-1 run, capped on an ace by Kaylyn Tanton to go ahead 20-17 and never look back.

With all the momentum favoring the home team, the Dinos jumped out to leads of 4-0 and 10-3 after another ace from Hansen. It was smooth sailing from there as Hansen finished this one off with another kill for the win over the preseason favorites.

“My biggest takeaway from today’s game is definitely to have patience with everything,” Fontaine concluded. 

Anya Fehr led the Dinos’ attack masterfully down the stretch and finished with a career-high 43 assists on the night. Manitoba setter Katreena Bentley also wrapped up a strong opening weekend with another 47 assists in Saturday’s contest.

Calgary is off for week, returning to the court Nov. 1-2 with a roadtrip to Regina to take on the Cougars. Meanwhile, the Bisons hold their home opener next weekend when Thompson Rivers comes to campus Oct. 25-26.

-UC-