CALGARY – It took the full five sets, but the Dinos men's volleyball team got back to winning ways on Friday night, downing the UBCO Heat 3-2 at the Jack Simpson Gym (25-16, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 18-16).

The Dinos, who lost both matches in their double header vs. the UBC Thunderbirds last weekend, now sit third in the Canada West conference with a 7-2 record. The loss keeps the Heat winless in their last five, with a 1-6 record.

It was a see-saw kind of match, with the Dinos winning the first and third sets and the Heat winning the second and fourth. In the fifth and final set, the Dinos managed a tight win to finally take the match.

"They pushed us to the limit," said," said Dinos head coach Rod Durrant. "We did a really good job in the first set and then we lost a little momentum in the second. The third set we rebounded really well and then in the fourth, we just couldn't find it."

The Dinos came roaring out of the gate to start the match. Within minutes, the home side led the Heat 12-3. The Heat had gifted the Dinos with some early points, missing on some of their serves and spikes.

The best the Heat managed in the first set was a three-point run to bring the score up to 12-6. The deficit never came closer than that, with the Dinos dominating for much of the interval. Outside hitter Connor Frehlich was the Dinos' main attacking threat in the set, registering four kills.

As the first set came to a close, the score was 25-16 for the Dinos.

The second set started out much more evenly, with the teams trading points back and forth. Eventually, the Heat started to pull ahead, with outside hitter Lars Bornemann and middle Leo Schober each putting up some solid kills.

The Dinos' serving was also not as solid as in the first set and some over-hit spikes gifted the Heat some valuable points.

"We felt we could serve them tough and really put up a decent block and play defense around it," said Durrant. "In times we put up a good serve and get them out of system, but then all of a sudden we'd not dig that ball. It kind of broke down on our defensive side."

The Dinos found their rhythm again in the third set, hitting 54 per cent on their attacks. Outside hitter Curtis Stockton was the set's top performer, scoring five kills.

Defensively, the Dinos managed six blocks and nine digs in the third set. Outside hitter Keith West managed four digs and nine kills in the third interval, helping the Dinos to a 25-17 win.

The fourth set played out much like the second, with the Heat pulling ahead and not letting the Dinos back into it. The Heat led 5-1, 11-6 and 18-12, keeping the Dinos from mounting a comeback.

But a Dinos comeback did look possible when they brought the score to 22-18. However, a strong finish from the Heat meant the set finished 25-21 for the visitors. Bornemann was the Heat's best performer in the set, registering five kills.

In the fifth and final set, the teams traded points back and forth, each desperate for the win. Some ferocious and critical hitting from the Dinos was countered by some good defensive play from the Heat. With the score tied at 15, it went to sudden death, with the Dinos eventually edging the Heat 18-16.

"In the fifth set it's all about that race to 15 points. We hit really well in the fifth set, hitting 48 per cent," said Durrant.

The Dinos top attackers for the night were Stockton and West, who managed 25 and 16 kills, respectively. For the Heat, Bornemann was the main scorer, with 20 kills.

Defensively, libero Derek Meeuwisse ended with a game-high 12 digs for the Dinos.

The two teams play again on Saturday night, 5:30 p.m. at the Jack Simpson Gym, live on CanadaWest.tv.

"Tomorrow night we need to regroup and be better on the defensive end. Our blocking was not as good as it needs to be and we'll improve on that tomorrow," said Durrant.

-UC-