CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team is heading into the holiday break on a three-game win streak.
The Dinos completed a weekend sweep of the Fraser Valley Cascades, winning 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-13, 29-27) on Saturday evening at the Jack Simpson Gym. Calgary finished the night hitting at a .282 efficiency, compared to .123 for Fraser Valley.
Both the Dinos and Cascades now close the first half of the season with identical 5-5 records.
"Being able to move on to the next action and stay ready for ways we can better the ball is crucial," said head coach
Christine Biggs. "When we're competing, it's important to stay flexible rather than focus on being perfect. Our continued commitment allows us to perform well and stay focused on quality training."
The Dinos came out strong in the opening set, taking control early behind an opening kill from
Sophia Hansen – picking up right where she left off the night before.
Leni Blanke added a kill of her own as Calgary looked comfortable and confident from the first serve. A pair of Fraser Valley service errors helped extend the lead, and a Hansen ace pushed the margin to 7-2. Calgary continued to pressure at the net, highlighted by a solo stuff block from Hansen and steady serving from
Courtney Webber, closing out the set 25-18.
The Cascades responded in the second, using a string of strong serves from Talia Attieh to build an early 5-2 lead. Calgary clawed back with a smart tip from
Ashley Ditchfield, immediately followed by a service ace. Hansen continued to adjust on each play, while a deep tip from
Anya Fehr gave the Dinos an 11-9 advantage. Back-to-back kills from Blanke kept the set close, but Fraser Valley surged late with consecutive aces from Naomi Unger to take the frame 25-21 and even the match.
With the match tied at one set each, Calgary came out refocused in the third. Blanke opened with a kill from the right side before Ditchfield and Fehr delivered key blocks at the net. Hansen added another sharp kill down the line off a clean setup from Fehr as the Dinos pulled ahead. Libero
Evvia Belireau connected with Hansen as Calgary continued to score even while scrambling defensively. With
Kalyssa Komori adding a kill and a spinning ace, and Ditchfield following with another ace, the Dinos cruised to a dominant 25-13 win.
The fourth set proved to be the tightest of the night. Ditchfield sparked Calgary with a service ace, but Fraser Valley pushed ahead 6-3. Komori made a one-handed save that led directly to a Hansen kill, pulling the Dinos back within one. Komori finished with 15 digs in a strong defensive showing overall. Hansen delivered another ace, and
Narelle Arnold capped a long rally with a forceful attack. Fraser Valley reached set point first, but Calgary responded with a clever short set from Fehr. The teams traded points to 27-27 before the Dinos grabbed the final two points to seal the game.
Hansen led Calgary with 17 kills on .314 hitting and four total blocks. Blanke added 11 kills on .364 hitting. Attieh paced the Cascades with 14 kills.
Calgary resumes Canada West play Jan. 9–10 at UBC Okanagan. Fraser Valley hosts Brandon the same weekend.
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