BOX SCORE EDMONTON – In a tight match between provincial opponents, the No.3 University of Alberta Golden Bears edged out the University of Calgary Dinos in a 3-0 victory (25-23, 26-24, 25-23), taking game one of the best-of-three quarterfinal playoff series, Friday afternoon at Saville Community Sports Centre.

Senior left side Jay Olmstead had a team-high 13 kills while third-year left side Ryley Barnes spun a dozen and added two aces. Third-year middle John Goranson cracked the double-digit barrier with 11 kills and sophomore setter Brett Walsh recorded 36 assists.

Team kill leader Greg Mann continued his offensive prowess in the post-season with a game-high 14 kills while fourth-year middle Sean Tuff added 10. Third-year setter Jackson Maris put up 38 assists on the scoresheet.

The Dinos jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but came face to face with a war of attrition on the scoreboard, the two Albertan squads fighting back and forth throughout the set before Brett Walsh had the Bears up 16-15 at the technical timeout.

The close battle continued until Olmstead put an attack off the Calgary block to break a 23-23 deadlock and Frehlich's attempt to extend the set went beyond the far right corner.

Point-for-point action persisted in the second set before the Dinos took a 6-0 run to gain a three-point lead they would hold onto for a while before a decisive Goranson kill knotted things up at 20. He and third-year right side Kevin Proudfoot grabbed two more apiece, Proudfoot putting his second off the block to give Alberta a 2-0 set lead with a 26-24 score.

Olmstead, who scored his 1,000th conference point in his final regular season game as a Golden Bear, had a set-high eight kills in the final set, netting four in a 7-2 run to push the momentum back in Alberta's favour two-thirds of the way through the set and one in the form of a deft tip to give the Bears a 24-22 lead.

Mann earned his sixth kill of the set to bring Calgary to within one but senior middle Matt McCreary powered an attack off the Dino block that headed sideways and out of bounds to end the match.

Game two of the best-of-three weekend series goes Saturday at 2 p.m. MT while game three, if necessary, goes Sunday at 2 p.m. MT.

Regardless of the outcome of the series, the Dinos have clinched a berth in the CIS championship as the tournament host. The Jack Simpson Gym will welcome the national championship Feb. 27-March 1.

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