Photo by Donald Voaklander

EDMONTON - Allen Meek dished out 21 kills and a 45 percent attack rating as the University of Calgary Dinos won the Canada West men's volleyball championship with a 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 25-27, 23-25 and 16-14) victory over the Brandon Bobcats Saturday evening in the U of A's Main Gym in Edmonton.

BOX SCORE

With the win, the Dinos collects their ninth conference title in program history, but their first since 1994. The Dinos now head to the national championship tournament, March 4-6 in Langley, B.C., likely as the No.2 seed with an opportunity to defend their 2010 title.

"That was a battle, it was a really tough match," said Dinos head coach Rod Durrant. "We started really well and were solid in the first two sets, then let a couple slip by. To pull it out 16-14 in the fifth was absolutely fantastic.

"It's a great win, gives us a nice seed for nationals, but as we know that's just step one."

Brandon, ranked No.7 in CIS, also heads to the CIS Tantramar tournament, but as conference silver medalists and potentially the No.3 seed.  The Bobcats won national bronze in 2009, but did not attend the tournament last season.

Outside of Meek's 21 kills, Calgary received 19 each from Curtis James and recently named Canada West MVP Graham Vigrass. The Dinos were very strong defensively as well, banking 69 digs and 23 blocks.

The Bobcats got a match high 22 kills from fifth-year Kevin Millar, while Paul Sanderson contributed 19.

Calgary appeared as though they were going to cruise to a straight sets win, taking the opening two sets in large part because of the play of James and Vigrass.  By the end of the second set, James had recorded 10 kills, while Vigrass chipped in with eight, including five in the second frame.

However, Sanderson and the 'Cats roared back in the third, clawing back from a set long deficit to win a tight 27-25 decision to force a fourth.  Sanderson carved out six kills in the third, as Brandon converted many Calgary errors into points.  The Dinos saw their attack rating drop from 31% to 25% after three.

Miller took over the in the fourth, smashing seven kills, and sophomore middle Dan Boutwell spun a pair of aces, helping Brandon to a 25-23 win, and sending the teams to the fifth and final set.

After posting 12 kills through the opening three sets, Meek became a force in the final two sets, collecting 10 combined kills, including five in the final set.  The two teams played an extremely close fifth, and although Calgary seemed in control, Brandon continually forced their way back into the contest, pushing into extra point territory, before eventually falling just short.

Calgary now joins the other three conference winners, Laval, McMaster and UNB, in the seeding pool, along with Brandon, Trinity Western, Canada West bronze medalists, Sherbrooke, the silver medal squad from Quebec, and the Canada West fourth place finishers, the Alberta Golden Bears.  CIS national seeding information will be released on Sunday, along with the tournament schedule.

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