CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team came up clutch when it mattered most, keeping their postseason hopes alive with a comeback win over No. 4 Trinity Western that went the distance Friday night from the Jack Simpson Gym.
The marathon match took two hours and 45 minutes to complete, with the final two sets going deep into extras, 16-25, 25-23, 19-25, 29-27, 19-17.
The win moves the Dinos to 9-14 on the year and still in a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot heading into the final day of the regular season.
Trinity Western moves to 18-5 in conference play as they are still jockeying for seeding before the start of the playoffs next weekend.
Evelyn Kath and Anya Fehr kept the Dinos swinging with 34 and 23 assists each, respectively. Kendra Kern amassed 35 assists for the Spartans.
Daisy Olsen showed off her arm this game as she led the Dinos with 26 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Maryn Boldon and Kaylee Plouffe took charge for the Spartans with 12 and 16 kills, respectively.
The Spartans started this game off strong as they led over six points early on in the set. They finished the set 25-16 with eight kills, three aces, and six blocks.
The Dinos were ready to swing in this second set with multiple kills from Mya Sheridan, Daisy Olsen and Sheridan Coninx. They amassed 16 kills on .419 hitting for a big bounce back to even things up.
After TWU claimed the third, the Dinos once again showed their fight in the fourth. In a set that featured 10 lead changes, Narelle Arnold came off the bench and provided a big spark before Sheridan Coninx took over at the end with a kill and an ace to send this one to a five.
Very little once again separated the two teams in the fifth. TWU had a one-point lead at 8-7 at the change over, but Calgary took three straight to go back ahead 10-8. Arnold once again came up big, tallying four blocks in the final frame. Knotted at 17-all, Coninx once again came up big with a kill before a solo block to finally put the nail in this one and keep the Dinos playoff chances alive.
The two teams are right back at it Saturday in the regular season finale, scheduled for a 7:30 p,m. tip following the men’s game.