Dinos ready for battle against Huskies, Spartans

CALGARY – After advancing out of their opening-round pool with a 2-1 record, the University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team is off to Langley, B.C. this weekend for two more contests and a berth to the Canada West Final Four on the line, starting Saturday.

The Dinos will start their three-team round-robin off Saturday by taking on the Saskatchewan Huskies at 8 p.m. MT. Calgary will then round things out Sunday with a 5 p.m. MT contest against the host Trinity Western Spartans.

Both matches are scheduled to be streamed live on Canada West TV, presented by Co-op.

HOW WE GOT HERE
The Dinos finished the regular season with a 13-5 record in conference play, good for second place in the Canada West Central Division. That earned them a spot in “Pool C” of this year’s new playoff format, sending them to East Division champ Winnipeg to take on the Wesmen, as well as Manitoba and UBC-Okanagan. The Dinos went 2-1 against that grouping, finishing second in their pool to advance as one of the final six teams still competing in Canada West.

ALL-STAR STATUS
Canada West announced their annual All-Star honorees earlier this week, with a pair of Dinos being recognized for their efforts on the court this season. Hamish Hazelden was named a First Team All-Star, while Louis Kunstmann was named to the All-Rookie team. Hazelden is one of the senior leaders of this year’s squad and ranks nationally in several categories this season, including kills (third), total points (third), hitting percentage (sixth), digs (seventh) and kills/set (ninth). Meanwhile, Kunstmann has quickly made a name for himself in his first season, leading the team in hitting percentage at .434. Both also play a big role in Calgary being ranked first in the nation in blocks, with the duo ranking second and third on the team in total blocks.

REGULAR-SEASON REWIND
Despite dealing with the oddities that were the 2021-22 season schedule, the Dinos certainly adapted well and have gotten hot down the stretch. After getting off to a 6-4 start, the Scarlett and Gold have dropped just one game since and are on a four-game win streak – including a sweep of then-second-ranked Alberta – entering post-season play. While Calgary is a well-balanced squad, they are undoubtedly led by Hazelden. The Australian product ranks third in all of Canada this season with 268 total kills on the year. The Dinos’ defence at the net has also been a huge part of the team’s success, as they rank No. 1 in U SPORTS in total blocks (193) and blocks/set (2.92). A big part of that net success has been the play of third-year Lincoln Baines, who ranks tops in the country with 1.52 blocks/set.

SCOUTING REPORT
SASKATCHEWAN | Saturday, 8 p.m. MT | Langley, B.C.

• The Huskies finished the regular season at 9-9, good for third place in the CW East Division.
• Saskatchewan went 2-1 in the pool play to advance, winning 3-2 over UBC and sweeping Fraser Valley while being swept by top-seeded Alberta.
• It has been quite some time since Calgary and Saskatchewan have squared off in a regular-season matchup, with the last series dating back to the opening weekend of the 2019-20 season – a series split from the Jack Simpson Gym.

TRINITY WESTERN | Sunday, 5 p.m. MT | Langley, B.C.

• TWU finished the regular season 15-1 in Canada West play, earning them the top ranking in the national polls.
• The Spartans swept through the opening-round pool that they hosted, sweeping Thompson Rivers and Mount Royal before a comeback, 3-2 win over Brandon in the finale.
• Calgary has had a hard time of late when going head-to-head with Trinity Western, dropping the last 10 in a row. The last win by the Dinos in the series dates back to the 2015-16 CW playoffs, with TWU just squeaking out that series, 2-1.

UP NEXT
The top two teams from each of this weekend’s two pools of three teams will advance to the Canada West Final Four, scheduled for March 18-19, hosted by the pool winner with the best regular-season record.