CALGARY – A top-ten battle went down at Jack Simpson Gym on Jan. 24 as the No. 10 University of Calgary Dinos fell to the visiting No. 8 Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2 (23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 27-25, 16-14).

The Dinos drop to 9-8 while the Huskies improve to 8-9 as the men's volleyball regular season begins to come to a close.

For the Dinos, Greg Mann once again led the way as he recorded a game-high 23 kills as well as a game-high 19 digs. Middle Ivan Kartev had 10 kills of his own and a total of 15 points. Both Jackson Maris and Andrew Visser picked up 12 digs for the Dinos. Maris also had a game-high 46 assists.

Paul Thomson led the way for the Huskies with 17 points and 11 digs. Both Bryan Fraser and Jordan Nowakowski scored 12 kills and setting Emory Wells added 36 assists. 

The first set was a testament to how close the whole match would be as both teams were tied all the way up until the technical timeout where the Huskies took at 16-15 lead. Still tied at 21, it was Saskatchewan who prevailed in the first 25-23. 

In the second, the Dinos had momentum early, but it didn't last as they began making mistakes that the Huskies found a way to capitalize on. The biggest lead of the set came at 19-15 in favour of Saskatchewan. 

Despite the Dinos battling back to get within one when Connor Frehlich came back into the game, a Huskie timeout proved to give them the boost they needed to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 second set win. 

In another close set, the third was time for the Dinos to pull it together to stay in it. Although Calgary led 10-6, the Huskies tied the game back up at 11 with some key defensive plays. At the technical the Dinos led 16-14 and from there, they pulled away, forcing a fourth with a 25-20 win. 

The fight continued for Calgary in the fourth. The Huskies put on the pressure a number of times, but the Dinos always found an answer, whether it was some great defensive work by libero Darcee Froese in the back and Kartev at the net, or offence generated from a number of position on the court. 

Tied up at 18, both teams battled it out for the fourth set win. An overpass from the Huskies at 26-25 allowed for Maris to make the kill, setting up a fifth set. 

In the fifth, Calgary went up 8-5 at the switch, but let that lead by reduced to just two points by the Huskies soon after. Tied at 10, 12 and 13, the match came to a close when Saskatchewan put together two big points to win it in extra points, 16-14. 

The Dinos and the Huskies will rematch tomorrow night. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.