CALGARY – They did it the hard way, but the fourth-ranked Calgary Dinos kept their first-place hopes alive with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over a plucky side from Thompson Rivers Friday night (25-14, 23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-9).
BOX SCORE
The win keeps the Dinos (13-4) in the running for the number one seed in Canada West, though they will need some help from the Regina Cougars, who dropped a tough 3-2 decision at home to Alberta Friday. With the loss, the WolfPack (5-12) is mathematically eliminated from the playoff picture, with Regina capturing the seventh and final post-season spot.
After taking a commanding 25-14 win in the opening set, the Dinos looked poised to cruise to victory over the WolfPack, to whom they have never lost in conference play. But offensive adjustments from the surging 'Pack in the second and third sets gave the visitors a 2-1 lead, forcing Jesse Knight's Dinos to play from behind to keep their perfect home record intact.
“They took it to another gear in that second set, and I think they had about five straight points with off-speed stuff,” said Knight. “We adjusted to that in the third, but we weren't able to adjust to the way they were defending. But I really liked the way we responded and got back in rhythm, and we really took it to them offensively in the last two sets.”
Calgary combined for just six errors in the final two sets, hitting 36 and 60 per cent as a team in the fourth and fifth, respectively. This turnaround came in large part thanks to impressive performances from middles Laura Spence and Ali Sandholm. Knight put Sandholm on the floor in the third set, and she finished the night with six kills on eight attempts for an impressive 62.5 per cent efficiency.
“For a rookie coming in there under that kind of pressure, Ali did a great job,” said Knight. “Not only offensively but blocking-wise as well, and she got a lot of positive touches tonight.
“Laura Spence has been doing that all year, and she gives us one more player that the opposition has to deal with.”
Spence finished with 13 kills on her 21 attempts.
The tandem of Anna Dyakiewicz (15 kills, 12 digs) and Michella Domo (11 kills, five blocks) led the way for the WolfPack in a losing cause, and both were key components of TRU's second-and third-set wins. Rachelle Walton added nine kills, and the WolfPack actually out-blocked Calgary by a 9.5-9.0 margin.
Senior left side Lauren Perry had a solid night for Calgary as well, pounding 18 kills to go with just a trio of errors. Fellow senior Holly Harper matched Spence's 13 kills, while Laura Wilson added nine. Libero Raynell Lavertu was solid defensively for the Dinos, digging up 18 TRU attacks.
The Dinos and WolfPack close their weekend series Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym, when TRU will look to play spoiler for the Dinos' playoff positioning. Knight expects nothing but a tough night in the series finale.
“I expect them to be better tomorrow night,” he said. “TRU has gotten better in every match they've played this year, that's why they took Trinity Western to five, that's why they took us to five, and that's why they beat Brandon. I only expect them to get better again.”
First serve goes 6 p.m. MT in the Jack.
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