CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos took the UBC Thunderbirds to four sets this evening but fell short in a four-set marathon Friday from the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Dinos remain in seventh place in Canada West standings with an 11-8 record. The No. 5 Thunderbirds sit in second with a 15-4 record.
The UBC Thunderbirds came out swinging and took the Dinos for two straight sets with close-end scores. In the first set, the Thunderbirds hit .306 for the frame. The Dinos kept things close, but would fall short with a 25-19 end score.
In the second, despite hitting just .065 for the set, the Dinos battled and found ways to stay in it before the Thunderbirds pulled away, finishing with 17 kills and three blocks for a 25-21 win to go up 2-0.
The Dinos continued to fight, claiming a marathon of a third set, 32-30 to stay away. The set went back-and-forth the whole way before back-to-back kills from Carolyn Berze and Sheridan Coninx brought the crowd to their feet.
In the fourth and final set, the Dinos carried over their momentum from the third and jumped out to a 15-12 lead. From there, UBC responded in a big way, rattling off nine of the next 10 points to grab hold with a 21-16 edge. Calgary continued to fight, but the visitors were able to close things out, 25-21.
“I’m excited because the things we’ve been working on for the last couple of weeks are starting to show up for us on a more consistent level,” Dinos head coach Christine Biggs said. “I’m pleased with our growth. We’re working towards maintaining a high level of competition and having it be a constant for us and coming out strong. We’ll continue to work towards our style of play.”
Saturday’s rematch is scheduled for a 5 p.m. first serve from the Jack Simpson Gym.
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