CALGARY – The Mount Royal University Cougars cooled off the streaking Calgary Dinos on Friday night, taking the first game of their weekend matchup in four sets (25-15, 19-25, 16-24, 21-25) at Kenyon Court.
Tim Taylor led the Dinos in attacks with a total of 15 kills. The team also racked up seven team blocks. The Cougars' top attacker was Trent Mounter with 16 kills. The team had 10 total blocks.
The first set quickly fell in the favour of the home team, and the Dinos called a timeout down 4-8. Strong serving and hard attacks allowed the Cougars to quickly extend their lead 13-5. Feeling the pressure the Dinos used their second timeout. The Cougars had found their rhythm and they stuck to it. At the technical timeout the Cougars had doubled the Dinos score 16-8. The Cougars stayed consistent on all aspects of the game, continuing to keep them in the lead. The Dinos hustled but it wasn't enough to catch the Cougars. A block from Scott Gieske ended the set 25-15.
The second set started with long rallies as both teams refused to give up on the ball. The points started to fall in the Dinos' favour and they took the first lead of the game 7-4. The Dinos capitalized on their lead, finding the holes in Cougars defence. Down 8-12 the Cougars called a timeout. The Dinos remained ahead and were the first to reach 16. Struggling to catch a break on defence the Cougars saw the set slipping away. The Dinos ended the set with an outside attack with a final score of 25-19.
The third set started point-for-point between the two teams. The Cougars seized every opportunity refusing to let the ball hit the ground as they gained the leg up. The Dinos called their first timeout down 9-12. The game continued to go back and forth, but the Cougars remained ahead by two, 16-14 at the technical timeout. After continuing to fight point-for-point it was the Cougars who came out on top 26-24 giving them a one set advantage going into the fourth.
The Cougars were steady and consistent in the third set, which led them into the technical timeout up 16-12. The Cougars were successful in switching up their points of attack, which kept the Dinos on their toes. The Cougars used their first timeout when the Dinos began to close in on their lead, but still ahead 19-17. The Cougars continued to keep their offence unpredictable, which lead them to a win 25-21.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow night, Feb 9, 2019 at 7 p.m.
