In the majority of cases, a national championship comes off of a number of years of close calls, ultimately culminating in the team finally getting over the final hurdle to take home the big prize. The 2010 Dinos men’s volleyball team, however, was far from the typical case, as their national championship came out of nowhere.
After a 13-5 regular season, the Dinos defeated the Manitoba Bisons in the Canada West quarterfinals, securing their place in nationals as because of Thompson Rivers hosting, the Canada West got four berths to the national championship. This would be Calgary’s first appearance at the national tournament since 2003, and head coach Rod Durrant’s first with the program, after taking over the team in 2006.
The Dinos had their work cut out for them, as ranked sixth headed into the tournament, they had to take on Atlantic champion Dalhousie Tigers in their opening match. These two squads had actually faced each other earlier that year at the McDonald’s Invitational in January, with the Tigers taking a 3-1 win. In the rematch, things could not have started worse for the Dinos, as they found themselves in a 2-0 set hole after losing the first two sets 25-21 and 26-24. Maybe it was the nerves of the big stage, but the Dinos definitely seemed tight to begin, but that all went away in the final three sets. Led by third-year Graham Vigrass who had 20 kills and just five errors, the Dinos had a tremendous comeback, taking the final three sets 25-20, 25-19, and 16-14 to set up a Battle of Alberta semifinal matchup with the Alberta Golden Bears.
No one can say the championship came easy for the Dinos: after they defeated the Tigers, they had to go through volleyball powerhouse and two-time defending national champion, the Alberta Golden Bears. It was an incredibly close match, as four of the five sets were decided by two points. The Dinos would come out firing, taking the first set, but then losing the next two to the Bears. Down to their last life once again, the Dinos showed that they were able to play their best volleyball with their backs against the wall. They took the fourth set 25-23, and then battled back to take a 15-13 win, and send them to their first national championship final since 1993.
Taking on the Trinity Western Spartans in the national championship, the Dinos used the momentum of their two tight five-set wins over the conference champions to their full advantage, as they were in control for the majority of the match, winning in four sets (25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25). It was the program’s first national championship since 1993, and the University of Calgary’s first men’s team sport championship since the 1995 Vanier Cup.
Vigrass was named the tournament MVP, and was joined on the All-Tournament team by setter Jay Blankenau. Blakenau and Vigrass would also use the national championship as a springboard for their volleyball career, as they would go on the represent Canada national team for a number of years, including at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
