CALGARY – If Friday night the middles were responsible for a Calgary Dinos victory, the outside hitters made a statement Saturday as the No. 8 Dinos completed a big weekend sweep of the fourth-ranked Brandon Bobcats with a convincing straight-sets victory in the Jack Simpson Gym (27-25, 25-21, 25-19).

BOX SCORE

The left side tandem of rookie Maura Hayes and fifth-year senior Raynell Lavertu led the way with 11 and 12 kills, respectively, as the Dinos evened their record at 9-9, clinching the seventh and final playoff spot in Canada West after Winnipeg was downed by the Regina Cougars. The Dinos wrap up the regular season next weekend when they visit Winnipeg for a two-game series.

“We were able to execute our game plan tonight, and our left sides were fantastic,” said Calgary head coach Jesse Knight. “Brandon came out and really tried to take away what we did well last night, which was in the middle, but that opened things up on the outside. When they got going that opened up the middle again, and we had complete balance offensively.”

Brandon's best chance to take a set came in the first, when the held a 16-12 lead at the first technical time out. Calgary quickly responded with a 6-1 run to take the lead at 18-17, but the visitors managed to grab a three-point lead once again at 22-19. Two set point opportunities for the Bobcats were denied on consecutive errors, and a block by Laura Spence and Lindsey Doland on Jaryn Ruether sealed a 27-25 win for the Dinos in extra time.

The second set featured tie scores at 19, 20, and 21, but back-to-back Ali Sandholm kills put Calgary in the driver's seat as they scored the final four points of the set to win 25-21. And Calgary dominated the third, leading by as many as nine before Brandon mounted a late comeback. Sandholm's seventh kill of the night converted the Dinos' third match point opportunity to seal the 3-0 victory.

Teagan Hunter had nine kills to lead the way for the now 12-6 Bobcats, although she also made nine attack errors to finish with an efficiency of zero. She also led the Bobcats defensively with 12 digs. Ruether and Nicole Ban fared better in the percentage column with eight kills each, while Claire Willerton added five.

Spence pounded six kills to finish behind Lavertu, Hayes, and Sandholm in that department for Calgary, while Hayes added 10 big digs as the Dinos played solid defensively.

Both teams wrap up conference play next weekend in Manitoba, when the Dinos pay a visit to the Winnipeg Wesmen while Brandon plays host to Regina for a two-game series. The Canada West playoffs open the following week, all leading to the 2010 CIS Women's Volleyball Championship March 4-6 at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

-UC-