BOX SCORE

CALGARY – There wasn't much to separate the two teams – just three points, in fact – but the No. 10 Calgary Dinos came away with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory (20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 15-12) over the UBC Okanagan Heat Friday night to open the final weekend of the regular season before the December break.

Led by a first-rate outing from Lindsey Doland, the Dinos trailed and played from behind in all three of their set victories to improve to 5-6 on the season. UBC Okanagan drops to 2-7.

Calgary was pushed to the limit by a determined Heat squad, but managed to pull out the win 15-12 in the fifth set after coming back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits in the match.

“UBC O challenged us defensively and we couldn't put the ball away early, and there was a lot of frustration around that,” said first-year Dinos head coach Natalie Schwartz. “We struggled to create any momentum or flow in our offence, but other than that we defended very well. With Jordhynn Guy and Emma Pederson coming in off the bench, they opened up a different offence for us, and they did a really good job.”

Guy replaced fifth-year setter Sarah Lacny midway through the second set, while freshman Pedersen spelled the struggling Courtney Dawson and Melanie Miazga and turned in a solid performance in four sets. But it was Doland that sparked the Dinos, recording 20 kills on the night and providing much of the offence in a pivotal set number two as Calgary turned an 18-12 deficit into a 25-20 win by ending on a 13-2 run.

“It was a big night for her in a lot of ways, because she was struggling offensively early and typically that would take her out of a match,” said Schwartz. “But she kept working and finding different ways to score, and she was rewarded with a big night.”

All five sets were tight and could have easily gone the other way as the Heat built up early leads in all five and forced the Dinos to play from behind most of the night. The tandem of Alex Basso and Katy Klomps led the way for UBC Okanagan with 13 kills apiece, while Myrte Schon chipped in with a dozen. Middle Kendra Wayling was their leading defensive player with 16 digs, while Klomps was involved in six of the Heat's nine blocks on the night.

Outside Doland's 20-kill, 30 per cent performance, Calgary got big contributions from Maura Hayes with 14 kills off the bench and Ali Sandholm with 13 kills and zero errors for a 48 per cent efficiency. Hayes and libero Brooke Halverson shared the digs lead with 13 each, while Pedersen had a hand in three of the Dinos' seven team blocks.

Calgary hit 24.2 per cent on the night, edging the Heat's 21.6 per cent.

The two teams lock horns one more time Saturday night in the Jack Simpson Gym, with first serve at 6 p.m. MT live on CanadaWest.tv.

-UC-