CALGARY - The Calgary Dinos volleyball teams face a tough situation as they visit the Trinity Western Spartans this weekend in Langley, B.C.
The David E. Enarson gym is one of the smallest in the conference and, in the mind of most athletes, is one of the toughest visiting gyms to play in.
Fresh off their two-game sweep of Saskatchewan at home, where they held the Huskies to an average of just 16 points per set, the No. 3 Dinos women begin a four-week, six-match stretch that will go a long way toward deciding their final position in the conference. Following this weekend's action, the Dinos have a bye before hosting the Manitoba Bisons – who spent most of last season as the top-ranked team in CIS – followed by a trip to Edmonton to take on the perennial powerhouse Pandas.
Trinity Western was the surprise of the pre-season, losing just one match and defeating the defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds in their own gym. Two of those wins came against Calgary, including the Spartans' first-ever win over the Dinos in the Jack, but the lone loss also came to the Dinos – a 3-0 (25-11, 25-21, 28-26) setback on opening night at the Husky Dino Cup.
Ranked No. 3 in the country heading into the season, the wheels fell off for the Spartans last week in Regina, losing twice to the hometown Cougars (3-0, 3-2). Trinity Western fell all the way to No. 8 in the Top 10 this week after the sweep and will undoubtedly be ready to play against the Dinos this weekend.
The Dinos are second in every statistical category except blocking in the young season, and middle Laura Spence leads the conference in hitting percentage (.621). Newcomer Laura Littlejohn and sophomore Laura Wilson also cracked the Top 10 in the conference in hitting percentage.
Holly Harper's 26 kills is good enough for second in Canada West early on.
Calgary took both conference matches the teams played last season (3-0, 3-1).
The Dinos men, meanwhile, got a sweep of their own last weekend, albeit with great difficulty. After an impressive 3-0 performance Friday night, the Dinos found themselves down two sets to none on Saturday before battling back to claim the match 3-2, maintaining their No. 4 ranking this week.
The David E. has been unfriendly to the Dinos of late, with their last win there coming on Jan. 31, 2003. The Dinos were, however, able to snap a lengthy losing streak against the Spartans last season with a 3-0 win and were well on their way to the sweep before falling 3-2 in the rubber match. Those games were played in the Jack Simpson Gym.
The Dinos sit in a three-way tie with Alberta and Trinity Western for first place in Canada West at 2-0, with a pair of middles leading the way offensively. David Egan and Graham Vigrass sit one-two in the conference in hitting percentage (.586 and .519, respectively). Two Spartans – Josh Doornenbal and Marc Howatson – sit directly behind them at .516 and .452.
Both Dinos teams see their next action in two weeks' time when they host the Manitoba Bisons in Saturday-Sunday matinee action, with the women at noon and the men at 2 p.m.
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