CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team kept its playoff hopes alive on Friday night, beating the University of Manitoba Bisons 3-1 at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium (25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19).

The Dinos' playoff chances were on a knife's edge coming into the last weekend of regular season action. Calgary sat four points behind the Mount Royal University Cougars, who held the seventh and last playoff spot in Canada West.

In order to qualify for the post-season, the Dinos need a sweep over the Bisons this weekend, while also banking on the UBCO Heat sweeping the Cougars in their series. If that happens, the Dinos will leapfrog the Cougars for the final playoff spot.

The Heat beat the Cougars in straight sets on Friday in Kelowna, which makes the knife's edge a little wider for the Dinos.

"We talked about taking care of what we can control, which is our performance and getting the wins we need in our gym," said Dinos head coach Natalie Gurnsey. "What happens in BC is unfortunately out of our control, but we want to go out knowing we did everything in our power to put ourselves in a playoff position."

The Dinos put in what Gurnsey called an "on-and-off" performance on Friday, against a struggling Manitoba squad that have only won two matches this season. Despite the Bison's position at the bottom of the conference however, the away side refused to give up against the Dinos.

"You never know what to expect from a team who aren't fighting for a playoff position but are still fighting to end their season on a positive note. I always think those teams are scary to play against because they have nothing to lose," said Gurnsey.

The first set was mainly about the two sides feeling each other out, with some long rallies and impressive defense. Fourth-year outside hitter Alli Woolley – playing instead at libero – earned 12 digs in the first set, more than half of her team's total.

"This semester [Woolley] has played a lot of libero for us. Some of it is due to injury, some of it is due to her strengths," said Gurnsey. "We're really happy with her performance."

Offensively, the Dinos looked to left outside hitter Amber Adolf and middle Beth Vinnell to earn their points in the first set. The two earned seven and five kills in the first frame, respectively.

The Dinos led 16-14 going into the first technical timeout, in what was a very even start to the match. But the Dinos pulled ahead after the technical and would take the set 25-18. Vinnell ended the set with a hard spike to the center of the Bisons' court.

The Dinos continued to play well into the second set. Leading 16-11, it looked like the Dinos could take an easy 2-0 lead.

But the Bisons continued to put up a fight, improving their play when they brought in setter Sydney Purvis. With some new faces in the lineup, the Bisons brought the score back to as close as 18-17. Their left side hitter Tori Studler put up four kills and two digs for the away side, in what was another evenly-fought set.

It took some strong hitting from Vinnell to close out the set 25-22.

Up 2-0, the Dinos went into the third set full of confidence. The home side started well, firing on all cylinders and pulling ahead 10-7. Vinnell continued dominating the Dinos' offense, hitting at 58 percent.

But the Bisons came back into it, leading by one point at the technical timeout. Studler was the difference-maker, helping out on offense and defense, while also serving well. With their confidence increasing, the Bisons won the third set 25-22.

"[Manitoba] have played really scrappy defense against other good teams in the last few matches and put them in some trouble too," said Gurnsey.

The fourth set was another tight ordeal, with many long rallies that drew applause from the crowd. The Bisons continued to score kills from their left side, while the Dinos earned several of their points down the middle.

It took some great hitting from third-year Laura McManes to pull the Dinos ahead. The outside hitter earned a set-high eight digs for the Dinos, eventually leading her team to a 25-19 win.

In terms of stats, Vinnell led the Dinos' offense with 20 kills. After those 12 digs in the first set, Woolley led the defense, scoring 25 of her team's 59 digs.

For the Bisons, Studler earned 13 kills, while libero Cassie Bujan managed 17 digs.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow at the Jack Simpson gymnasium for the last match of the Canada West regular season. First serve is scheduled for 4:00pm.

-UC-