Griffins prove too much for Dinos Saturday

CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team closed out their season opener weekend with a straight-set loss against the MacEwan Griffins at Jack Simpson Gymnasium on Saturday night.

As the Dinos wrap up their season opener weekend, they fall to 0-2 for the season, while the Griffins advance to 2-0.

Mariah Bereziuk continued her successful weekend by leading the Griffins with nine kills and eight digs. Payton Shimoda also rounded off her weekend with another 25 assists. 

Daisy Olsen led the Dinos offence with 11 kills, and first year Anya Fehr had an impressive 23 assists. Fehr and Sheridan Coninx both had six blocks, and Michela Alongi held the defence with six digs.

In the first set the Griffins started off strong, controlling the net and making key kills. The Dinos found some rhythm midway through the set as the team looked to snap the Griffins scoring run. The Dinos made an eight-point run, taking the lead and flipped an 18-12 deficit into a 20-18 lead. After the Griffins serving pulled the lead too long for the Dinos to counter, MacEwan was able to finish off the set with kills from Danielle Jodoin and Sarah McGee, taking the set 25-21.

The second set saw both teams taking turns driving the offense, with great attacks from Griffins Alyshia Bryks and the Dinos Olsen. Despite an early lead from MacEwan, the Dinos soon began catching up, despite attempts from the Griffins to pull ahead. Sam Silva, Fehr and Coninx blocked multiple MacEwan attempts, and Olsen made a perfectly aimed sideline kill, giving the Dinos a 17-16 edge. The Griffins took a small lead towards the end of the set, but the Dinos fought to stay alive at set point, forcing extra points and getting a run of three kills. The Griffins were finally able to close out the set 27-25 with a service ace from Kara Frith.

The third set was a repeat of the first two as the Griffins took an early lead only to have the Dinos claw back, refusing to go away. Service aces by Olsen and a kill by Coninx allowed the Dinos to take a lead early in the third set, with a five-point run bringing to score to 7-5 for the Dinos. Although neither team was able to take a dominant lead throughout the third, the Griffins pushed back against the Dinos lead, with two aces in a row from Bryks and multiple attack errors whittling away the Dinos lead. Timely kills by Bereziuk and Bryks finished the set 25-21 for the Griffins.

The Dinos now hit the road for the first time this season with a trip to Kamloops next weekend to take on Thompson Rivers, starting Friday. Meanwhile, the Griffins have their home opener next weekend, welcoming Saskatchewan into the David Atkinson Gym.

-UC-