CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team put on an impressive offensive performance to open their final series of the regular season, reigning victorious against the UBC Okanagan Heat in a tight four-set match (25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 25-16) Friday night in the Jack Simpson Gym.
Second-year outside hitter Hellen Lacava came away with the top spot on the leaderboard with a double-double 16 kills, 10 digs and three blocks for the Heat, while UBCO's Kenzie Wallace put up a wall on the Dinos offence, earning a match-high 10 blocks. But the Dinos responded with
Lexi Peart leading a tactfully balanced offense as
Adriel Goodman,
Autumn Davidson and
Trinity Solecki all earned double-digit kills: 13, 13 and 10, respectively.
"Autumn was really good tonight both blocking and attacking, I'm just really pleased with how she played tonight," said head coach
Natalie Gurnsey. "Lexi set a really complete match, I was really happy with her selection and technical sets tonight.
"It's nice to get a win, UBCO can be a very scrappy team and we did a really good job on our serve-pass, we made some really good tactical defense adjustments."
Fifth-year
Autumn Davidson led the charge in set one as three kills and two blocks from the 6-foot-1 middle scored five of the Dinos' first 10 points. Calgary hit a sparkling .250 on 14 kills compared to the Heat's .030 and nine. Although the Dinos and the Heat are similarly matched in their strong blocking frontlines and tough servers, the Dinos' ability to end long rallies with well-placed shots and big hustle plays led them to a 25-20 set one victory.
In set two,
Lexi Peart led a fast-paced offense, setting up
Adriel Goodman in multiple positions on the court for three kills in the first five points. The Heat quickly responded with two momentum-shifting blocks, but uncompromising hustle from the Dinos' defense powered them through for a 25-22 win.
Set three proved to be a back-and-forth battle of intensity, as neither team strayed further than three points ahead. However, rookie Amaya Perry's tough cross-court float serves had the Dinos struggling to produce viable offense, leading the Heat to a tight 26-24 win.
The Dinos responded with tenacity in set four and did not let up on the gas until the final point. Throughout the set, the Dinos did an excellent job of limiting unforced errors and putting the pressure on the Heat's offense with tough blocking, driving the squad to a 25-16 final set win.
For the Dinos, who have been eliminated from the postseason but will host the U SPORTS national championship in four week's time, the win was an important stepping stone.
"As we look towards nationals, every day we have to spend on the court whether it's another match or training, it's all about us improving at least one or two per cent every single day and become as prepared as we possibly can," said Gurnsey. "We've got one shot and we are going to do everything we can to work towards that in the next few weeks."
The loss officially eliminates the Heat from playoff competition. A rematch between UBCO and the Dinos will go down Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Jack, where the Dinos will celebrate six senior players at their final home game.
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