CALGARY – Jesse Knight got his first win over his former team and the University of Calgary Dinos got a badly-needed win as they took a five-set decision from the third-ranked UBC Thunderbirds 3-2 (27-25, 20-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-10) Saturday afternoon.
BOX SCORE
In a match that featured a little bit of everything, the No. 7 Dinos survived a scare in the fifth and deciding set before rallying for the win. Up 12-4 and with the match seemingly in hand, the Dinos reeled off five straight attack errors which were followed by a UBC kill, and an eight-point lead suddenly became a two-point lead. Two kills from Julie Young set up match point for the Dinos, however, and Melanie Miazga scored the match-winning kill in the only point she played all afternoon.
“Our girls stepped up at key times, and that was pretty obvious there at the end of the fifth set,” said Knight, who spent five years at UBC as an assistant coach before taking the head job in Calgary this season. “It was a battle of two great teams, and both played well at different times. We were fortunate to come out on top at the end, and I'm looking forward to how we can get better tomorrow.”
As is befitting two of the top teams in the nation – and two teams that have enjoyed several epic battles in the recent past, neither team was able to score a decisive blow on the other. Very little separated the teams statistically – Calgary had the edge in total kills and digs, but UBC enjoyed a higher attack percentage and more team blocks – and the total points difference at the end was just four in favour of the Dinos.
The first set was indicative of how the match would unfold. Calgary jumped out to an 8-5 lead, only to see the 'Birds claw back into it and take a 15-14 lead. UBC maintained a one- or two-point lead as the score continued to climb, eventually setting up set point at 24-22. Clutch kills by Holly Harper and Laura Spence kept the Dinos alive, and Lauren Perry combined with Spence to block Jen Hinze as the Dinos scored the come-from-behind 27-25 win.
The second and fourth sets were virtual mirror images of each other, with UBC taking an early lead, fighting off a late charge by the Dinos, and winning the set. Calgary, meanwhile, won the third in much similar fashion, and for the seventh time in 11 conference matches the Dinos found themselves going the distance.
Harper and Spence were strong early in the fourth set, and several unforced errors by the Thunderbirds allowed Calgary to jump out to the 12-4 lead. The Dinos posted nine kills in the final frame compared to just two for UBC, both courtesy Rayel Quiring.
Kyla Richey was the offensive story for the T-Birds, but UBC was unable to get her going in the fifth set as she posted three of her 10 attack errors. Richey finished with 18 kills to lead all players, while Marisa Field added nine. Quiring and Danielle Peterson posted eight kills each, while libero Claire Hanna finished tied for the match lead with 15 digs.
Harper's 17-kill afternoon was tops for the Dinos, who improve to 8-3 on the season, with Perry adding 14. Spence and Laura Wilson had 10 kills each, with Wilson adding 15 digs to her statistical total.
The Dinos and T-Birds square off in the series finale Sunday afternoon in the Jack Simpson Gym, with first serve slated for 12 p.m. MT.
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