CALGARY – Transfer Allen Meek put up 13 kills and the Calgary middles proved unstoppable once again as the host Dinos advanced to the final of the 2008 Husky Dino Cup with a 3-0 win over UCLA Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym (25-23, 25-16, 25-19).
Their opponent yet to be determined, the Dinos return to the Husky Dino Cup final after a one-year absence with a perfect 3-0 record in the round robin, losing just two sets in those three victories over Brandon, UBC, and UCLA. The tournament final goes at 8 p.m. Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym (Video webcast: www.nutv.ca/streaming).
After a tight see-saw battle in the first set which the Dinos ultimately took 25-23, Calgary took full control of the match with 25-16 and 25-19 victories. Having already secured a berth in the tournament final by virtue of Brandon's defeat of UBC earlier in the evening, Calgary head coach Rod Durrant took the opportunity to play some of his bench, and they performed admirably against a Bruins team playing its second match of the day.
Meek, who started in place of Omar Langford, posted impressive numbers, while Curtis James scored five kills on six attempts in his first action of the tournament. David Egan gave Oleg Podporin a break and hit six-for-nine with no errors along with four service aces. The three Calgary middles that have seen action in the Husky Dino Cup to this point – Egan, Podporin, and Graham Vigrass – have posted 46 kills with just four errors on 60 attempts for a whopping 70 per cent kill efficiency.
Senior opposite hitter Ryan Ratelle led the Bruins with 17 kills, with Mitchel Johnson adding seven and Kent Kraushaar five. UCLA's top two outside hitters Sean O'Malley and Garrett Muagututia, both of whom were impressive in the Bruins' morning victory over Brandon, did not play against Calgary.
In UCLA's first match of the day, the Bruins came back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat the Brandon Bobcats 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 27-25, 18-16), with the final two sets going past the maximum. Brandon fell to 0-2 on the tournament after that loss but rebounded in the first match of the evening, dispatching UBC 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21).
The Dinos had little trouble with the Thunderbirds in their first action of the day, taking a 3-1 victory (25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17).
Just one match remains in the round robin portion of the tournament, with UBC taking on UCLA Saturday morning at 11 a.m. A win for UCLA would guarantee the Bruins a rematch against the Dinos in the Husky Dino Cup final Saturday night, while a UBC win would result in a three-way tie for second place at 2-1. Under tournament rules, the first tiebreaker is sets won/lost overall, and the tiebreaker would go to Brandon regardless of the UBC-UCLA score. In short, a UCLA win Saturday morning puts the Bruins in the final against Calgary, while a UBC win would give Brandon a shot at the title.
The bronze medal match will see UBC against either UCLA or Brandon, beginning at 4 p.m. A women's non-conference match-up between the Dinos and the Trinity Western Spartans follows at 6 p.m., with the tournament final slated for 8 p.m.
-UC-
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) def. Brandon 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-17, 25-21)
Friday, Oct. 17
11 a.m. UCLA def. Brandon 3-2 (16-25, 20-25, 25-21, 27-25, 18-16)
1 p.m. Calgary (m) def. UBC 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 25-17)
6:30 p.m. Brandon def. UBC 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21)
8 p.m. Calgary (m) def. UCLA 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-19)
Saturday, Oct. 18
11 a.m. UBC vs. UCLA
4 p.m. Men's bronze medal match: UBC vs. TBD (video webcast at www.nutv.ca/streaming)
6 p.m. Calgary (w) vs. Trinity Western (video webcast at www.nutv.ca/streaming)
8 p.m. Men's gold medal match: CALGARY vs. TBD (video webcast at www.nutv.ca/streaming)
Standings (Men's Draw)
1. Calgary (3-0; sets 9-2)
2. UCLA (1-1; sets 3-5)
3. Brandon (1-2; sets 5-5)
4. UBC (0-2; sets 1-6)
