CALGARY - Two more top-10 matchups in volleyball take place in the Jack this weekend as the Dinos play host to the UBC Thunderbirds in matinee action Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
It's usually a classic when the Dinos and T-Birds women hook up. From two straight national semi-finals in 2005 and 2006, both won by UBC, to the 2007 playoff series where Calgary knocked the 'Birds out of the national championship, to the epic 2008 conference semi-final, the Dinos and Thunderbirds have played some of the most memorable volleyball matches in both schools' histories.
As if the battle of two 7-3 teams and national powerhouse programs wasn't enough, this weekend's series takes on added significance as Calgary head coach Jesse Knight takes on his former team for the first time.
Knight joined the Dinos in 2008 after a five-year stint as the full-time assistant coach with UBC, helping the 'Birds to their first national championship in 30 years last season. He will go head-to-head with former boss Doug Reimer this weekend in what is a crucial series for both sides and, if the teams weren't already familiar with each other already, Knight brings an insider's perspective to the series against the defending champs.
The Dinos returned earlier this week after a 10-day junket to Florida where they trained with and played exhibition contests against several other teams from across the country. With everyone on the roster getting significant playing time, Calgary enjoyed mixed success in Tampa, bowing out in two 'official' non-conference games by tight 3-2 scores with the bench seeing considerable action. Those two losses, however, coupled with their semester-ending 3-2 loss at Regina in late November, caused the Dinos to slip from No. 4 all the way to No. 7 in the national rankings this week – but they have a chance to right the ship as they host the T-Birds this weekend.
Calgary lost both conference contests at UBC last season before defeating the eventual champs in an epic Canada West semi-final in Winnipeg that earned the Dinos an eighth straight trip to the CIS championship. The teams continued that trend in non-conference play to open this season as Calgary fell 3-2 at the UBC-hosted tournament in Vancouver in which the third set went all the way to 38-36.
On paper the teams are evenly matched. The Dinos' Holly Harper and UBC's Liz Cordonier sit three-four in the Canada West kills standings, and UBC holds a slight edge in most team stats. The T-Birds are the top blocking team in the conference thanks mostly to the tandem of Marisa Field and Danielle Petersen, who have been a force at the net all year. Rookie left side Shanice Marcelle, a veteran of the national junior team program, has been impressive in her CIS debut, racking up 61 kills to sit second on the team.
Fifth year seniors Harper and Lauren Perry once again lead the Dinos offensively with 150 and 102 kills, respectively, while third year middle Laura Spence has posted a solid 79 kills and sits in the top five in the league in hitting percentage.
With parity at an all-time high in Canada West, just six points separate first place Alberta from the three-way tie for third between Calgary, UBC, and Brandon. Home court in the playoffs goes to the top four teams and Canada West has just three spots at this year's CIS championship in Fredericton, so wins down the stretch are crucial for every team. The Dinos are in good shape to finish in the top four with series left against UBC and Brandon along with three of the weaker sisters in the conference – Winnipeg, Thompson Rivers, and Simon Fraser – and a solid weekend against the Thunderbirds would start the stretch drive off on the right foot.
On the men's side, the renaissance of the Dinos men's volleyball program continues as Calgary sets its sights on its first home playoff date since 2002. For the first time in recent memory, the men's volleyball team has the highest national ranking of any Dinos team at No. 4 after an impressive 7-3 start to the season. The only blemishes came in a split at Trinity Western, one of the toughest gyms in the conference, and a sweep at the hands of the powerhouse No. 1 Alberta Golden Bears in Edmonton.
They sit in second place in Canada West behind Alberta, but the road gets a little steeper for the Dinos in the second half of the season as they face the four teams directly behind them in the conference standings: No. 7 UBC, No. 6 Winnipeg, No. 8 Brandon, and No. 9 Thompson Rivers. Three of those four weekends are at home, however, and the Dinos will have the chance to prove they are indeed one of the nation's elite teams over the next four weeks.
First up in that series of important matches is UBC this weekend, a team the Dinos have mirrored in their development over the last couple of years. Last year's big upset win in Vancouver sparked the Dinos to an 8-10 season and a return to the playoffs, but the T-Birds got the last laugh in a 2-0 post-season series win over Calgary.
The teams met once in pre-season action this year, a 3-1 Dinos victory at the Husky Dino Cup. Calgary had little trouble with the T-Birds on that occasion, hitting .550 in the fourth set to seal the win. UBC started the season 0-3, albeit with two of those losses coming at Alberta. They have since rebounded to post five straight wins, including an impressive sweep over Trinity Western.
Steve Gotch, a former Dino, has led the way for UBC in his fifth and final season. Gotch sits second in Canada West with 4.93 kills per match, and he was the bright spot for the T-Birds in the Husky Dino Cup match-up against Calgary, where he posted 14.
Already just two wins shy of their best record since 2001, the Dinos have been led by the impressive hitting percentages of David Egan and Oleg Podporin along with the resurgence of Omar Langford, who posted back-to-back 27-kill performances in four sets at Regina to end the fall term. Langford was named CIS athlete of the week for his efforts back on Nov. 28-29. Sophomore setter Ciaran McGovern sits second in the conference in assists, while Andrew Tallas' 92 kills leads the Dinos' spread-out offence.
Calgary and UBC have similar schedules down the stretch, although the 'Birds do have two games in hand. Both play Winnipeg and Brandon, while UBC takes on Manitoba, whom the Dinos swept back in November. Calgary plays host to Thompson Rivers, who split with UBC in October, and UBC's two extra matches come against lowly Saskatchewan. In short, a team that sweeps this weekend has a significant leg up on the other in the final standings, while a split will solve virtually nothing.
The Dinos men remain at home next weekend while the women hit the road. Both will face the Winnipeg Wesmen.
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