Dinos get set for Crowchild Classic playoff action

CALGARY – The seventh-seeded University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team will make the short trip across town to take on No. 2 Mount Royal Cougars in the Canada West Playoffs this weekend, starting Friday.
 
Friday’s match kicks off the best-of-three series and is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve. Saturday’s contest is set for 7 p.m., and Sunday has a 5 p.m. scheduled start if needed.
 
All three games will take place at Kenyon Court on MRU’s campus and will be streamed on Canada West TV.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
 
1. HOW WE GOT HERE – The Dinos finished the regular season in seventh place in this year’s Canada West standings with a 12-12 record. Calgary faced a very difficult schedule to start the season after graduating a handful of starters from last year’s squad that went to nationals. After an 0-5 start to the season, the Dinos have been one of the hotter teams in the conference in the second half of the schedule, winning eight of their last 11.
 
2. FAMILIAR FOES – There won’t be many surprises in this weekend’s showdown when the Dinos make the short drive for a playoff iteration of the Crowchild Classic. The Cougars swept this year’s season-opening series to pull even at 12-12 all-time in conference games since MRU joined Canada West. The two teams met a whopping six times during last year’s unique regular season, with Calgary claiming four of those six contests.
 
3. HISTORY CLASS – Calgary is in pursuit of its 10th Canada West title in program history heading into this year’s playoffs. The Dinos came close a season ago, making a memorable run that saw them claim bronze before a fourth-place finish at nationals. Their most recent conference crown came back in 2011 – one year after the team’s last national title.
 
4. SENIOR SENDOFF – It was a memorable home finale for the Dinos this past Saturday. The night started with fans getting to say thank you to this year’s seniors in Liam Kuppe and Lincoln Baines – a duo that have certainly left their mark on the program. The night ended with a three-set sweep of Manitoba where the Dinos hit an incredible .522 for the match to close out their home schedule with a 10-6 overall record inside the Jack Simpson Gym, including going 8-4 at home in conference play.
 
5. UP NEXT – Should the Dinos advance, they will take on the winning of No. 3 Trinity Western and No. 6 Brandon next weekend (March 3-5) at the opposing team’s gym.
 
-UC-