CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos continued their home-court domination of the Trinity Western Spartans Thursday, taking the first match of the 2008 Husky Dino Cup 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 28-26).
A 15-kill performance by fifth year right side Holly Harper paced the Dinos, who improve to 7-4 in non-conference play, avenging a 3-1 loss to the Spartans at the UBC tournament two weeks ago.
“They're a very strong team and they're battling some injuries,” said Calgary head coach Jesse Knight following the first home game of his CIS career. “There were definitely some positive to come out of it for us though. We had our backs against the wall a couple times and battled back, and there were several places where we executed very well and made them work both offensively and defensively.”
After arriving at the gym late, the Spartans came out flat to open the match, and four straight errors gave the Dinos a 4-0 lead. The Dinos extended that lead to 8-1 at the break and never looked back, cruising to the 25-11 win on the strength of six kills and three aces from Harper.
“They were definitely not playing to their full potential in that first set,” said Knight, “but we executed well and did show our potential.”
The final two sets did unfold as expected, with two talented teams battling it out point-for-point. Calgary battled back from a 16-14 deficit in the second to take a 22-19 lead, eventually taking the set 25-21. Harper had six more kills in the second set.
The third was back-and-forth as well, with Knight calling time out with the Spartans up 11-10. Calgary responded quickly to go up 16-12 heading into the second technical break, but it was Trinity Western's turn to battle back with clutch kills from Kim Klassen. A Klassen ace put the Spartans up 23-22, setting the stage for some late heroics from Calgary sophomore Laura Wilson. Wilson, a left side who spent the summer with the national team, pounded three key kills in the final stages, and a long attempt by Dayna Jansen Van Doorn ended the set and the match 28-26 in Calgary's favour.
Harper's 15 kills easily led all players, and she connected at a 30 per cent efficiency rate with just four errors on 37 attempts.
“Holly had a great match tonight, and she's had a number of great matches already this season for us,” said Knight. “She's really taken on a leadership role this year.”
Fellow senior Lauren Perry added eight kills for the Dinos, with Wilson adding six. Klassen paced the Spartans with 10 kills on 27 attempts, while Carmen Dyck added eight and Julie Koepke six for Trinity Western.
Spartans libero Andrea Ball and Dinos setter Sarah Lacny each had a match-high 15 digs.
The two teams will complete their non-conference set at the 2008 Husky Dino Cup Saturday night, with first serve at 6 p.m. MT in the Jack Simpson Gym.
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2008 Husky Dino Cup – Tournament Schedule
All games in the Jack Simpson Gym
Thursday, Oct. 16
6 p.m. Calgary (w) def. Trinity Western 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 28-26)
8 p.m. Calgary (m) vs. Brandon
Friday, Oct. 17
11 a.m. UCLA vs. Brandon
1 p.m. Calgary (m) vs. UBC
6:30 p.m. UBC vs. Brandon
8 p.m. Calgary (m) vs. UCLA
Saturday, Oct. 18
11 a.m. UBC vs. UCLA
4 p.m. Men's bronze medal match
6 p.m. Calgary (w) vs. Trinity Western
8 p.m. Men's gold medal match
Standings (Men's Draw)
Brandon (0-0)
Calgary (0-0)
UBC (0-0)
UCLA (0-0)
