EDMONTON — The MacEwan Griffins just couldn't find that second gear against the University of Calgary Dinos.

One night after a heartbreaking five-set defeat, the Griffins fell in four sets (21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 19-25), Saturday afternoon at the David Atkinson gymnasium.

Third-year Jefferson Morrow led the Griffins with 14 kills and seven digs, while fifth-year outside hitter Alexei Walisser chipped in with 12 kills, while Liam Kuppe led the Dinos with 15 kills, Erik Godwin recorded 13 kills and 13 digs in the victory for Calgary.

Rookie setter Anders Bouck continued to make strides in the early going, racking up a career-high 46 assists in the win and leading the Calgary offence to an efficient .370 hitting clip on the night.

The loss drops MacEwan to 0-8, while Calgary improves to 3-5 this season.

The Dinos took the opening set 25-21, in a set that MacEwan led early on. The Griffins held an 11-5 lead after a big block from Morrow, but the Dinos just wouldn't go away, as they continued to chip away at MacEwan's lead. They tied things up at 16-all and eventually took a 20-19 lead after a block from Louis Kunstmann, and they didn't look back, earning the set win with an ace from Zack Durrant.

The Griffins however didn't let that opening set loss deter them, as they found a way to battle through an ultra tight set.

MacEwan took a 10-9 lead after a kill from Walisser, and they didn't let the lead slip away again. Gorman stepped up with a nice tip to make it 18-13, and the Griffins kept the pressure on, forcing the Dinos into making some mistakes, and MacEwan capitalized, earning the second set win.

In the third set, once the Dinos took a 12-10 lead, MacEwan couldn't get on a rally as both teams traded points until the Dinos went on a 6-1 run to end the set.

The fourth set was almost a carbon copy of the third set. MacEwan managed to tie the set at 12-12 after an ace from Seth Birkholz, but then the Griffins would fall behind a couple points for the majority of the rest of the set. Zach Evans hammered home one of his 10 kills to start a 3-0 spurt for the Dinos to create some separation. Lincoln Baines added one of his nine kills (on just 11 swings) before another kill from Evans to make it 21-15 and give Calgary complete control.

Another kill from Birkholz would make it 22-17, but the Dinos were just too strong to finish off.

Up next, the Griffins will now travel to Brandon to take on the University of Brandon Bobcats next weekend, while Calgary will face the Alberta Golden Bears at home.

-UC-