CALGARY - The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team hit an incredible .469 and cruised to a 3-1 win over the Regina Cougars in the home opener Friday night from the Jack Simpson Gym.

The Dinos offence was nearly unstopable all night, jumping out to big wins in the first two sets before wrapping things up in the fourth, 25-10, 25-17, 25-27, 25-14. With the win, the Dinos improve to 2-1 on the young season, while the Cougars fall to 0-3.

It was all Calgary in the opening set, jumping out to leads of 8-1 and 14-4 before an ace from Mya Sheridan closed things out, giving the Dinos loads of confidence to start the night.

Things started a little more even in the second. The Dinos led, 8-7, before a block by Sammi Boag and Sheridan Coninx finished off a 4-1 run to create some separation. That started the momentum swing that then went fully in Calgary's direction with a 6-0 burst capped by a Reagan Ingram kill to suddenly make it 19-10. Coninx and Boag finished with back-to-back kills to close things out for the 2-0 lead.

The Cougars showed some fight in the third. In a set filled with runs, Regina jumped out to a 4-0 lead and battled back late with a 6-0 spurt to tie things up at 21-all. Going into extras, Bailey Balaberda was able to find the floor to get her team on the board and make it a 2-1 contest.

But Calgary rebounded in the fourth to put this one to bed. Already leading 10-9, Stella Rains went on a serving run that featured a pair of aces and the Dinos led 15-9 by the time she was done. Coninx used her eighth kill of the night to send the home fans home happy and wrap up the weekend opener.

Sophie Reed was the standout attacker for the Dinos on the night with a total of 15 kills on an incredible .609 hitting percentage. As much of a dominant force as Reed was, all the Dinos attackers had their fair share of kills. Rookie Daisy Olsen and Sammi Boag, who were the other two outside hitters for the Dinos, both had nine kills on the night.  

Regina's Bailey Balaberda had an strong night for the Cougars, finishing with a game-high and career-best 17 kills and hit .419.

Both teams played some scrappy defense, with Calgary just getting the edge in the digs column, 40-38. The Dinos front-row defence was dominant all night and finished with 9.5 blocks.

The two teams will square off again in less than 24 hours, with the rematch set for 5 p.m. Saturday again from the Jack Simpson Gym.

-UC-