BOX SCORE EDMONTON – The Dinos will have a week off after being knocked out of the Canada West playoffs by the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday afternoon - but they're still alive as hosts of the 2014 CIS men's volleyball championship.

Continuing his veteran offensive leadership, senior left side Jay Olmstead propelled the No.3 University of Alberta Golden Bears to a straight-sets win (25-23, 25-13, 25-18) over the University of Calgary Dinos, also sweeping Calgary in a best-of-three quarterfinal series, Saturday afternoon at Saville Community Sports Centre.

The current Canada West Male Athlete of the Week spun 11 kills, totaling 24 kills in six sets on the weekend, and added an ace while sophomore setter Brett Walsh recorded 26 assists.

Fifth-year outside hitter Greg Mann had a team-high eight kills for the Dinos, third-year setter Jackson Maris netting a game-high 27 assists.

Starting up where the teams left off on Friday, the opening set was another back-and-forth affair, neither team opening a large lead on the opposition.

A 7-2 run by Alberta got the point differential to a max of four, but the Dinos battled back to tie the score at 19. When third-year left side Ryley Barnes put the Bears up 24-22, a Calgary timeout produced Mann's sixth kill of the set but Barnes replied with a strike to the middle of the Dino court to give Alberta a 1-0 set lead.

Starting the middle set, attack errors by the Bears yielded a 2-0 lead on the score clock for the Dinos before a 10-1 run by the home team created the most uneven set of the series, Calgary trying to pick away at their large deficit before Olmstead took centre stage.

The Edmonton native blocked a Mann attack attempt, scored a kill off the foot of Dino outside hitter Andrew Visser, and added another off a Calgary block to get three of Alberta's last four points to end the set for a commanding 2-0 set lead.

The Harry Ainlay high school grad and Barnes combined for 11 kills and three aces in the final set, Olmstead putting down four straight kills late in the set to keep the momentum in Alberta's favour. The Dinos and Bears then went point for point as the set wound down, Visser's serve going long to end the match.

With the victory, Alberta advances to the Canada West Final Four next weekend at Trinity Western University, hosted by the Spartans. The Dinos, on the other hand, will wait for the conference champion and the runner-up at the CIS Championships, hosted by Calgary from Feb. 27 to March 1.

-30-