CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team went five sets but could not complete an upset of the defending Canada West champion Manitoba Bisons, falling 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 13-25, 25-22, 7-15) on Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Bisons were ranked first in the conference’s preseason poll and took set leads with wins in the first and third. Each time though, the Dinos responded to take the game the distance.
Dominique Desautels led the way for Calgary on offence and defence with 16 kills and 14 digs. Sophia Hansen was also a bright spot with 14 kills in her Canada West debut.
Manitoba countered with a well-rounded attack led by Ella Gray and Andi Almonte, who respectfully posted 15 and 13 kills. Gray was especially efficient with a .429 hitting percentage.
“I think today’s game really showed that when we play as ourselves and the team we want to create, we can do anything really; the sky’s the limit,” Dominique stated, as she took the positives from her team’s first regular season game.
The opening set was close as the Dinos tried to put on a show in front of a strong opening night crowd. Leading by a point at 11-10, Manitoba put together a 6-0 run, with three kills by Gray that allowed them to seize control. Another mini run shortly after was enough for the road team to win set one.
Calgary opened a five-point lead in the middle of the second set before Manitoba fought back to level it 20-20. Desautels rose to the occasion and closed the set with a kill in a tight 25-23 decision.
After the Bisons won the third set, the Dinos found themselves in another fight in the fourth. Almost identical to the second set, Calgary maintained a five-point advantage before Manitoba tied the game at 20-20. This time, an ace by Daisy Olsen clinched the set and sent the game to five.
Errors proved costly for the Dinos in the fifth as the Bisons built a sizeable lead. As they had all night, the home team chipped away, but they couldn’t complete the comeback this time. A kill by Almonte capped off the night for Manitoba and took them to a 1-0 start.
“Obviously, I’m really sad that we didn’t have [this game], but I think as a new team with a lot of new players, we did a really good job fighting out of this, and I think as a first game for our new team we put on a really good performance and have a lot to build on. I’m really excited for what the future holds for us,” added Desautels.
The Dinos and Bisons will close out the opening weekend with a rematch on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
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