CALGARY, AB – The University of Calgary men's teamwork and fight against momentum shifts led them to defeat the University of Manitoba Bisons 3-2 Saturday afternoon in the Jack Simpson Gym.
There was no one person from the Dinos that dominated, but balanced contribution allowed them to defeat the University of Manitoba Bisons.
The unranked Bisons came out firing with great defense and multiple block touches at the net. This attention to detail and numerous service errors from the Dinos brought a 25-23 victory to Manitoba.
The Dinos settled their offense in the second set and started getting block touches of their own that allowed them to get to a 21-16 lead. Despite numerous hitting errors after 20 points, right side Allen Meek, with 12 kills after the second set, finally put the ball away for the Dinos and tied the match 1-1 with a 25-22 second set win.
A service error to start the third set set the tone for the Dinos. The Dinos didn't make a serve until the score was 6-4 for the Bisons. The Dinos finally gained some momentum when power hitter Don MacNeill came in and made an instant impact with three kills off the hop, giving the Bisons a different look to deal with. But MacNeill's contributions were not enough to combat service errors from the Dinos endline and the service aces from the Bisons. The third set closed at 25-22 with a service ace for Manitoba.
The fourth set was all about momentum shifts, each team taking their turn. The Bisons started off with a service ace and great defense to bring them to an 8-5 lead at the first technical time out. The Bisons followed their lead up with consecutive hitting errors and a Dino serve that dribbled over the net, leaving the game tied 13-13. Allen Meek stepped up at 21-19 getting his 20th kill of the game and a stuff block to end the set 25-21.
The fifth set opened with an aggressive dump from Dinos setter Ciaran McGovern. A service ace from Chris Hoag and huge kill from middle Graham Vigrass lead the Dinos to 8-4 at the switch. Calgary finishes the match with blocks from Graham Viagrass and Allen Meek getting kill 24 for the night.
Notable attack leader for the Bisons was power hitter Chris Voth with 17 kills, while right side John Galloway contributed 13 kills of his own.
-UC-
