CALGARY – For the second night in a row, the Mount Royal University Cougars defended home court, defeating the Calgary Dinos in straight sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) in Crowchild Classic competition on Saturday night at Kenyon Court.
The Dinos' top attacker was
Parker Siroishka with a total of nine kills, while the Cougars got their best offensive performance of the night from Trent Mounter with a total of 12 kills.
The first set was close to start as both teams searched to find their rhythm. It was the Cougars who were the first to excel on offence. The Cougars took the first big lead of the game 13-8 forcing the Dinos to call a timeout. With both aspects of the game going well for the Cougars they kept their lead, 16-10 going into the technical timeout. Mount Royal's Tyler Schmidt went on a serving run extending their lead even further 19-11. The Cougars continued to swing and quickly ended the set 25-12.
The Dinos seemed to respond early in the second set as they came back swinging and took an 8-6 lead. After a Cougars timeout they found themselves gaining back their offensive rhythm. The Cougars took the lead at the technical timeout 16-14. With a combination of strong offence and consistent serving the Cougars grew their lead 20-15, forcing a timeout from the Dinos. The Cougars continued their consistency and ended the set with a tip from Trent Mounter to take it 25-20.
Looking to finish the match the Cougars yet again took an early lead, going up 9-6. The Cougars utilized every position on offence, making the Dinos' job on defence very difficult. The Cougars doubled the Dinos' score by the technical timeout 16-8. The Cougars started to struggle on offence when they found themselves unable to keep the ball in the court, opening a window for the Dinos. After a quick timeout the Cougars regrouped and found themselves within reach of a victory. A missed serve from the Dinos ended the set and the match 25-18 in favour of the Cougars.
The Dinos return to the Jack Simpson Gym next weekend for a pair of matinee matchups with the UBC Thunderbirds from Feb.15-16, including Seniors' Night to close out the regular season.
After two wins on home court this weekend the Cougars take off for one final regular season game in Saskatchewan. They will return home to Kenyon Court on Feb. 22, 2019 for the Quarterfinal playoff game at 7 p.m.
