CALGARY – The Calgary Dinos and Manitoba Bisons went down to the wire for the second straight afternoon, with the Dinos once again coming out on top in the fifth set, winning the match 3-2. Holly Harper's impressive all-around game on Sunday stood out for the Dinos, recording 23 kills and 11 digs.
A tight battle the whole way through the match was eventually decided late in the fifth set when National team member Laura Wilson entered the game tied 10-10. Wilson immediately recorded a block to get the serve back, and then put down two more kills to help secure the victory.
The Dinos and Bisons showed why they are ranked third and fifth in the country respectively, as neither team gave the other more than a four point cushion throughout the match. The defensive will of both squads was evidenced by several long rallies with tremendous sprawling efforts to keep them alive.
Four players from each team had ten or more digs, with Liberos Raynell Lavertu of Calgary and Nicole Hall of Manitoba leading the charge defensively with 18 digs apiece.
Calgary Head Coach Jesse Knight was pleased with the effort from his team.
“Coming into today, we wanted to get better defensively. I thought as opposed to last night, where both teams were excellent offensively, which ever team played better defensively this afternoon would win the match. We stepped up both at the net and in the back row, and out pursuit was excellent.”
Offensively for the Dinos, Harper led the way with Lauren Perry contributing 18 kills as well. Sarah Lacny slightly outdid her season assist average at the setter position, with 56 assists.
The middles for Manitoba were strong on Sunday, asserting their power regularly. Erin Nieuwenberg and Tricia Mayba had 11 and 12 kills respectively and were a nuisance to Dinos blockers throughout the match. Once again for Manitoba, it was Sarah Morrissette leading the team in kills, with 16 to her credit.
The Bisons will fly back to Winnipeg to host the Saskatchewan Huskies next weekend with hopes of getting back into the win column.
Calgary on the other hand will go on the road to face the number two ranked Alberta Pandas in Edmonton. Both Alberta rivals will be looking to make a statement as they battle at the top of the standings.
