CALGARY – After a marathon weekend of volleyball in the Jack Simpson Gym, the UBC Thunderbirds again took the Calgary Dinos to the maximum five sets but fell 15-13 in the end as the defending CIS champion Dinos extended their unbeaten string to 10 matches with a 3-2 victory (19-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18, 15-13) Saturday night.

BOX SCORE

While the result mirrored Friday's as the Dinos swept the weekend series, this time Calgary was forced to come from behind as the T-Birds jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to 25-19 and 25-21 wins in the first set. Outside hitter Ben Chow was unstoppable early for the T-Birds after earning a starting spot thanks to an impressive performance in relief Friday night, and he led the way for UBC with a match-high 23 kills on the night in a losing cause. UBC falls to 4-8 with the loss, while Calgary remains unblemished at 10-0.

As the game progressed and Graham Vigrass started to find his stride for the home side, Calgary slowly turned the tables and took the initiative, cruising to comfortable nine- and seven-point wins in the third and fourth sets. The 25-18 win in the fourth forced a fifth and deciding frame, the fourth in as many matches this weekend in the Jack between the Dinos and Thunderbirds in both men's and women's play.

Calgary took an early lead in the fifth but the 'Birds fought back to tie at 9-9, and the momentum shifted towards the visitors. A kill by Demijan Savija, his 15th, gave the Thunderbirds a 13-12 lead, but a Vigrass kill tied it up, a Chris Hoag ace set up match point, and Milo Warren's attack error ended it 15-13 in favour of Calgary.

“We really struggled again with our first ball and gave up too many runs,” said Calgary coach Rod Durrant, “but in three through five we played steady volleyball. Guys really showed up today – Graham Vigrass fought through the match tonight and showed a lot of character. UBC is a scrappy team and they don't give you any easy points, so you have to be patient. We still need to take care of the ball and not give up too many easy points, and that's what we'll have to work on before next week.”

For the second straight outing the Dinos were led by Vigrass, who added another 20 kills to his 23 from Friday night's five-set win. Vigrass was a surprise addition to the Calgary lineup late in the first set, sitting out the opening portion of the match after suffering through a bout of food poisoning overnight. In just over four sets' work, the 2010 CIS championship MVP put up 20 kills on 41 attempts with just four errors, and eight of those kills came in the final set.

Curtis James was the only other Dino in double digits for kills with 10, while David Egan added eight and Hoag seven. Libero Blake Giles racked up a match-high 16 digs while Hoag chipped in a dozen, and Jay Blankenau was full marks for his 40-assist, nine-dig performance on the night.

Along with Chow's 23 kills and 15 from Savija, Robert Bennett added 10 on just 15 swings for the Thunderbirds. Chow matched Blair Bann's team-high eight digs on the night, while Joe Cordonier was UBC's leading blocker with 2.5.

Calgary dominated play at the net, especially late in the match, holding a 12.5-5 edge in blocking on the night.

For the Dinos, life doesn't get much easier as they head to Langley, B.C. for a date with Trinity Western and a rematch of the 2010 national championship final next week. The Thunderbirds, meanwhile, also face a tough challenge as they host Brandon (4-6) in a battle for playoff positioning at War Memorial Gym.

-UC-