CALGARY – Unfazed and refocused after a convincing loss to the UBC T-Birds on Thursday night, the University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team took care of business on Friday, beating the Brandon University Bobcats in straight sets, 27-25, 25-16 and 27-25.

BOX SCORE

It was a tale of three sets on Saturday, where the Dinos managed three different scenarios successfully against the Bobcats.

A tight first set featured only one three-point lead, which came courtesy of Calgary at the 5-2 mark. Neither team gave up any ground until the Dinos opened it up just enough when it counted, winning the set by a score of 27-25.

The second set, however, played out much differently, as the Dinos controlled the game from the get-go and never trailed, beating the 'Cats handily, 25-16. A mid-set 7-1 Dinos run, aided by two kills from rookie Newfoundlander Maura Hayes, blew it open to 16-9 and the Dinos never looked back.

Calgary then battled back from an early deficit to the Bobcats in the third set after trailing 16-12 at the second technical timeout. Coming out of the break re-charged, Raynell Lavertu led a 7-1 Calgary run with two big kills to take the lead 19-17, and the Dinos held on to win the set and the match by a score of 27-25.

Head Coach Jesse Knight was very pleased with the way the Dinos responded against Brandon.

“I thought today was fantastic,” said the second-year coach. “Our approach to start the match was the complete reverse from yesterday. Last night we were tentative, and today we came out wanting to kill, which we did.”

Lindsey Doland led Calgary with 16 kills on the afternoon while Lavertu chipped in with a solid all-around match, posting 15 kills, 11 digs and two service aces. After a good effort in the loss to the 'Birds on Thursday, Doland now puts her weekend output to 28 kills with one game still to go.

Brandon ultimately could not create enough scoring opportunities, where despite 23 Dinos attacking errors, the Bobcats were 21 attack opportunities behind their counterparts to go along with six untimely receiving errors. The 'Cats were led by Jaryn Ruether and Teagan Hunter, who contributed 12 and 11 kills respectively.

Both teams will get another crack at each other on Saturday evening, as they play the rematch at 5 PM in the Jack Simpson Gymnasium. The Men's Gold Medal match follows the women's game at 7 PM, and will feature the top two teams of the round robin portion of the tournament. 

-UC-