BOX SCORE CALGARY – Seven-foot-one middle Ivan Kartev put on an incredible display at the end of the third set to grab momentum for his University of Calgary Dinos, leading them to a 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17) win over the Winnipeg Wesmen Sunday afternoon.

With the match tied at 1-1 and a five-point lead for the Dinos that didn't feel all that comfortable, Kartev threw up a solo block on Cameron Baydoch of Winnipeg to make it 19-13 for Calgary. Then, he blocked Tom Douglas-Powell. The Wesmen scored a pair of kills to make it 20-15, and Kartev went back to work. Five more consecutive blocks later, the Dinos had a 25-15 win, a 2-1 lead in the match, and the momentum moving forward.

Seven of the last nine points in the set involved blocks by Kartev. Setter Jackson Maris was in on four of them, with Jeremy Guenther assisting on a fifth – but the show was Kartev's, and four times Casey Schouten was on the receiving end of the stuff.

Those seven blocks were part of the Dinos' 21-11 advantage in that category on the night, with Kartev contributing in 14 of those. And the momentum carried over into the following set, when Kartev's counterpart in the middle, Jovan Jankovic, stepped back to serve and, in a run of nine serves, picked up four aces – three of them consecutive – to turn a 6-4 Winnipeg lead into a 13-6 advantage for the Dinos. They went on to win the fourth going away, 25-17.

The win advances the Dinos' record to 2-4 on the season after the weekend split with Winnipeg (2-3).

Kartev added eight kills on the day, while Connor Frehlich led the way for the Dinos with 11. Greg Mann added 10. For Winnipeg, Ty Loewen and Brendan Black each put up 13 in a losing cause for Winnipeg, while Casey Schouten added 10 – though he also had 10 errors on the day.

Winnipeg remains on the road next weekend when they face the Regina Cougars in the Saskatchewan capital. Calgary stays home to host the UBC Thunderbirds in a two-game series in the Jack Simpson Gym.

-UC-