Total team effort sends Dinos past Heat

KELOWNA – Daisy Olsen hammered home 13 kills and hit .385 to help power the University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team to a 3-1 win over UBC-Okanagan Friday evening from the UBCO Gymnasium.

Calgary cruised to a win in the opening set before battling for the key conference win, 25-18, 23-25, 25-19, 28-26.

Olsen finished the night one dig shy of a double-double and was one of three Dinos with 10-plus kills on the night. Sophie Reed tallied 12 to go with a season-high 16 digs. Sammi Boag had a big performance in her return to the court, collecting 11 kills and nine digs.

Rookie Anya Fehr dished out 32 assists on the night for the Scarlet & Gold, while Michela Alongi tallied a season-high 17 digs in the win.

Amaya Perry led the way for the Heat with 15 kills to go with eight digs in the loss.

Calgary took control of the opening set early as they went on a 7-2 run, forcing an early UBCO timeout. The Dinos maintained control from that point on as Daisy Olsen shone, firing five kills, including the set clincher.
 
UBCO made changes to their lineup and it paid off in the second set, as veterans Amaya Perry and Abigail Dueck led the charge to tie the match. After trading points much of the frame, a crucial 6-2 run gave the Heat three match points, converting on the third to take the set.
 
Another hot start for the Dinos forced UBCO into another early timeout as they trailed 8-4 early on. A balanced attack from Calgary kept the Heat at bay and they would clinch the set with a big block from Sam Silva and Dominique Desautels.
 
Calgary’s hot starts continued in the fourth, winning the first five points to set the tone. UBCO would battle back through Perry and Olivia Tymkiw to tie the set at 14, forcing Calgary into a timeout. The Heat would get a set point at 25-24 but Calgary would rally on a 4-1 run to take the match thanks to three Heat errors and a kill from Anya Fehr to close the match.

Saturday’s rematch is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT.

-UC-