BRANDON, Man. – The Bobcats battled back to force extras but the Dinos wouldn't be denied Saturday night, winning 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 20-25, 15-12) at the HLC.
Calgary came out strong, getting a number of clutch plays early on to take the first two sets.
The Bobcats were able to battle back, winning the next two to force this one to go the distance.
In the fifth, the two teams traded the first 12 points before Calgary was able to create separation. A kill by
Erik Godwin capped a 4-0 run and make it 9-6 Dinos. Godwin added an ace to bring it to set point at 14-10 before finishing things off three plays later with an emphatic swing.
Brandon managed to out-block the Dinos 14.5-3 and attack at a more efficient clip of .250 to Calgary's .179, but Brandon's 24 service errors proved to be too much to overcome.
Calgary was led by
Erik Godwin's match-high 17 kills to go with his 10 digs and three aces.
Louis Kunstmann had 15 kills, while
Liam Kuppe finished just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 14 digs.
Brandon was led by Friesen yet again, as the second-year outside has been solid all season. Saturday saw the Reinfeld product put up another 15 kills to go with 13 digs.
Paycen Warkentin was a force at the net all night, putting up eight blocks.
The split drops Brandon's record to 9-7, while Calgary improves to 8-10.
Up next for the Bobcats is a weekend trip to Abbotsford, B.C. to play the University of Fraser Valley Cascades. Calgary gets a weekend off before returning home to host UBC Feb. 3-4 from the Jack Simpson Gym.
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