CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team improved to 2-0 on the young season, defeating the Mount Royal University Cougars 3-2 (25-17, 25-13, 27-29, 14-25, 15-7) on Saturday night at the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Dinos stormed out to a 2-0 advantage, taking both sets convincingly before finding themselves in a hard-fought third set. Mount Royal took the third and fourth before Calgary reset and won the game in the final set.
“First two sets were great, third and fourth I was disappointed we couldn’t fight back and at least give them a challenge,” said Dinos middle Lincoln Baines. “Just too many ups and downs but definitely super proud of how we came back in the fifth set and won the game.”
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The opening set of the game mirrored last night’s game between the Dinos and the Cougars. Again, both teams started strong, however, it was the Dinos who took an early lead. After both teams traded blows throughout the set, Mount Royal was given a red card after arguing a non-call on a potential carry ball. The Cougars couldn’t quite regain their composure after the card and dropped the first set 25-17.
The second set was more of the same, the Dinos attack seemed unstoppable as they would go on to win 25-14. Tomas Sora orchestrated the attack, finishing with 41 assists on the night and he made sure everyone got involved early. Baines, Hamish Hazelden and Louis Kunstmann all looked sharp as they continually bombarded the Cougars with kill after kill.
Chris Byam and Luis Lange who finished with 21 and nine kills respectively, led the comeback for the Cougars. Despite a few service errors late in the third set, the Cougars were able to hold on and win 29-27.
Mount Royal seemed to have discovered the recipe for success as they dominated the fourth set. Byam, Haronga and Lange all contributed to the Cougars attack which had a 33 percent kill percentage for the set. the Cougars won the fourth 25-14.
During the fifth and final set, it was Baines who propelled his team to victory. Throughout the entirety of the match, it was Baines’ competitiveness and energy that kept his team in the game. Baines had a clutch kill late in the final set, extending the lead to 11-7. That lead would prove to be too much for the Cougars to overcome as the Dinos would go on to win the next four points and take the final set 15-7.
The Dinos will look to continue their win streak at home next Friday, Nov.12 against the MacEwan Griffins. The Cougars will look to earn their first victory of the season when they host Alberta Golden Bears on Nov.12.