CALGARY - For a brief moment, there was concern creeping into the Calgary Dinos women's volleyball camp.
A semester-ending 3-2 loss to the Regina Cougars – Calgary's first loss to Regina in nearly nine years – followed by a couple of uncharacteristic losses in 'official' non-conference games at a winter training camp in Florida dropped the Dinos from No. 3 to No. 7 in the national rankings with the defending national champions paying a visit to open 2009. Losses would put the Dinos behind the eight-ball with a tough playoff opponent, possibly even on the road.
What a difference two days can make. After grinding out a 3-2 win over the UBC Thunderbirds – who had taken the Dinos' spot at No. 3 in the Top 10 – to open the weekend series, the Dinos dominated the second match en route to a 3-1 win and a series sweep. Fifth year senior Holly Harper led the charge both days, but it took a total team effort to upend the T-Birds, the team Dinos head coach Jesse Knight helped lead to the national title last season.
Suddenly, all was right in the world again. The Dinos jumped back up to No. 4 in the rankings and have their playoff fate solidly under their own control with six of their final eight matches against three of the weaker sisters in the conference – Thompson Rivers, Simon Fraser, and Winnipeg.
With eight matches left to play in the season, the Dinos head out on the road for two straight weekends before closing out conference play with back-to-back weekends at home. Both road trips involve flights to Winnipeg, although this week's drive from the Winnipeg airport isn't quite as long as next week's will be – just a trip to Portage Avenue downtown. Next weekend, Calgary will face a two-hour drive to Brandon after arriving in the Manitoba capital.
The Lady Wesmen have won just six sets all season in posting a 1-11 record, with the lone win coming at Saskatchewan in early November. Winnipeg has not taken a single set off a team with a .500 or better record this season, and they face an intimidating gauntlet to end the season: Calgary at home, No. 2 Alberta on the road, the defending national champion Thunderbirds at home, and a home-and-home with fifth-ranked Manitoba. Coach Diane Scott brings her team into the weekend after a two-match pasting at the hands of the Brandon Bobcats, where the Wesmen broke the 20-point plateau just once.
Marlee Bragg and Ariel Smith are Winnipeg's two top offensive threats with 102 and 98 kills each, but as a team the Wesmen are hitting at just 7.7 per cent on the season, compared to Calgary's better than 20 per cent.
For Calgary, Harper's big weekend propelled her into second spot in the Canada West kills standings, while middle Laura Spence has quietly been posting very good stats while getting big kills at key times for the Dinos.
The Dinos face a stiff test at Brandon next weekend before closing the season at home with matches against Thompson Rivers and Simon Fraser.
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