CALGARY – The University of Calgary men's volleyball team broke their cold streak Friday, sweeping the MacEwan University Griffins in three sets (25-16, 26-24, 26-24).
Both teams were hungry for a win and kept it close at the beginning of the match, going point for point. However, the Dinos were able to pull ahead and keep a consistent three-point lead, taking the first set 25-16.
The Griffins really gained their momentum taking the lead early in the second set with strong blocks at the net. MacEwan led the scoring for most of the set with 19-15 and 24-21 scores, but the Dinos mounted a serious comeback at the end of the frame, scoring five consecutive points to take a 26-24 win.
Buoyed by their comeback, the Dinos came out flying to start the third and led the scoring throughout the set, at one point leading 18-9. However, the Griffins managed to battle all the way back and tie it up at 24, but kills from Alex Bader and Regan Fathers ended it in the Dinos' favour, again 26-24.
"We were pretty confident coming into the game but our block-defence kind of crumbled, there were balls we should have got and we weren't getting blocks," said third-year outside hitter Tim Taylor.
"Eventually we took advantage, got our momentum back and came back in the end luckily. The team comes in clutch at important moments."
The Dinos snapped a six-match losing streak with the win, improving their record to 11-10 while MacEwan falls to 2-19.
Fifth-year outside hitter Bader notched a total of 12 kills while Taylor followed with 10. The Dinos held a 10.5-7 advantage in blocks and out-dug their rivals by a 34-24 margin.
Griffins outside hitter Jordan Peters led the way with 11 kills, despite starting just the final two sets, while Kai Hesthammer added eight in a losing cause for MacEwan.
The action between the Dinos and Griffins continues at the Jack Simpson Gym on Saturday with first serve set for 1:30 p.m. MT, live on CanadaWest.tv.
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