LANGLEY, B.C. – In a rubber match of arguably the best series in men's volleyball in all of Canada this season, No. 3 University of Alberta Golden Bears were able to do just enough to advance past the No. 8 University of Calgary Dinos Friday night in a Canada West Final Four showdown from the Langley Events Centre.
After splitting the regular-season series 3-3, the Golden Bears did just enough in an incredibly tight matchup to advance to Saturday's CW Championship with the win, 27-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22.
"Two pretty even teams playing tonight. The first two sets were decided by two points, which was really close," said Dinos head coach
Rod Durrant. "We had our opportunities in the first two sets. I thought our guys bounced back well in the third. And then they did a really good job on the defensive end. Two very good teams battling for a chance to go to the national championship and I thought our guys showed up and did all that they could tonight."
Hamish Hazelden once again led the way for the Dinos offensively with 18 kills on the night.
Lincoln Baines also tallied double figures with 10 kills, while
Erik Godwin added eight.
Tomas Sorra dished out 36 assists on the night and
Jacob Reid provided a nice spark off the bench with six assists of his own.
Defensively, Sorra and Hazelden each had 12 digs on the night to lead the Dinos, while
Parker Siroishka added eight.
Baines was once again a brick wall at the net with seven blocks on the night to lead all players.
Isaac Heslinga led the way for the Golden Bears Friday, finishing with 20 kills, 16 digs and three blocks.
"We've played them seven times this year," added Durrant. "We're two teams who know each other very well and I think we match up really well against each other. They did a good job on the block defensive end. They did a better job on the defensive end. They dug some big balls and we really had to work hard to score points against them tonight and all the credit to them."
In the opening frame, neither team could create any separation the whole way. Alberta grabbed the largest lead of the set at 5-2, only to see Calgary answer right back to take an 8-7 lead after an ace from Hazelden. Godwin had two clutch kills late to tie things up at 25-all and send it to extras, but Alberta was able to find back-to-back points to just squeak out the opener.
It was a similar story in the second as the two squads were neck-and-neck the whole way. The Dinos took a 24-23 lead late after a kill from Siroishka, but once again the Golden Bears were able to do just enough late to take the 2-0 lead.
Despite the 2-0 hole, Calgary refused to quit. The Dinos answered back in a big way in the third, using a 7-0 run after Reid was subbed in to jump ahead 17-15. Alberta was able to tie things back up at 21-all, but the Dinos once again rallied and rattled off four of the next before Hazelden hammered one home for the win to close the gap.
The fourth set, however, reverted to the original storyline as Alberta was able to do just enough down the stretch to eek out yet another tight set and the win.
The Golden Bears now advance to Saturday's Canada West Championship, taking on the host and No. 1 ranked Trinity Western Spartans. Meanwhile, the Dinos move on to face the Brandon Bobcats in the bronze-medal match, scheduled for a first serve at 5 p.m. MT on Saturday.
