CALGARY – Friday's match was all about defence and the rematch a night later saw both teams excel offensively, but the end result was the same as the No. 9 University of Calgary Dinos completed a weekend sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies with a 3-1 win (25-14, 25-15, 26-28, 25-21) in the Jack Simpson Gym.

BOX SCORE

The teams combined for exactly 100 kills on the night as the Dinos improved to 6-6 on the year while the Huskies dropped to 1-11.

“Saskatchewan had a bunch of errors in the first two sets, but they really came on in the last two,” said Calgary head coach Jesse Knight. “That fourth set was really tit-for-tat, back and forth, but we just kept swinging.”

Four Dinos players finished with a hitting percentage better than 40 per cent and at least three kills, while freshman Maura Hayes led the way in volume with her 14-kill performance.

“Maura really dominated in the early going,” said Knight. “We also noticed the additional depth at the libero position tonight, and that's only going to be a positive thing for us going forward.”

Transfer Bethany Enge saw her first significant action for the Dinos in the match after joining the team this week, recording 11 digs for Calgary.

The first two sets were all Calgary as the Huskies managed just 15 total kills against 24 for the Dinos, who took a 2-0 lead in the match with quick 25-14 and 25-15 wins. But the third set followed a vastly different script, with Saskatchewan taking the momentum early thanks to several kills from Candace Hueser, who finished the night with a match-high 17.

Calgary took the initiative back and rode a 16-11 lead into the second technical break, but the Huskies scored five straight to tie it at 16. Saskatchewan eventually landed a set point opportunity at 24-22 forcing the Dinos to fight back, sending the set to overtime. A solo block by Danae Lockert broke a 26-26 tie, and Ashley Schurko's back row kill gave the Huskies their first and only set of the weekend by a 28-26 score.

The fourth was eerily similar to the third until the 16-point break, when the Dinos were able to keep the momentum and were rewarded with a match point opportunity at 24-18. It took them four tries to close out the fourth set, but setter Kathryn Moncks' dump scored to give the Dinos the weekend sweep.

Senior Raynell Lavertu finished strong for the Dinos, finishing with nine kills and six errors after opening the match with four kills and five errors.

“Ray struggled early, but her ability to compete and fight back is a testament to the type of player she is,” said Knight.

Lindsey Doland matched Lavertu's nine kills, with Laura Spence adding eight from the middle.

Schurko and Erin McGladdery put up seven kills each in a losing cause for Saskatchewan, following up the 17 contributed by Hueser.

The Huskies return to action next weekend when they host the Winnipeg Wesmen for a two-game set. Calgary, meanwhile, will have two weeks to prep for the undefeated, two-time defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds, who they face at War Gym in Vancouver in two weeks' time.

“It's almost like the playoff run starts right now,” Knight observed. “UBC, Regina, Brandon, Winnipeg is a tough schedule to close the season, so we're going to use this time to get ready for the stretch drive.

-UC-