CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball team is moving on.

Calgary stunned the Mount Royal Cougars with a 3-2 win (23-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13) in a decisive Game 3 of their Canada West play-in series Saturday night at Kenyon Court.

The victory sends the Dinos to the conference quarter-finals and marks the second time in three playoff appearances that Calgary has eliminated Mount Royal. The last came in 2023, also at Kenyon Court.

Calgary entered the series without a regular-season road win, having gone 0-10 away from home. After dropping Game 1, the Dinos responded with back-to-back five-set victories to knock out their Crowchild Classic rival on its home floor.

Both teams were sharp offensively in Game 3. Mount Royal hit .311, while Calgary followed closely at .302.

Mount Royal received a boost from Michael McAlpine, who scored four of the Cougars' first 10 points. Tied 18-18 late in the opening set, the Cougars closed strong to take an early lead.

The second set shifted momentum. Mount Royal's offence dipped to .156, and Calgary capitalized. The Dinos controlled the frame and evened the match. The visitors carried that momentum into the third, building a 5-1 lead and holding control into the late stages. 

But Mount Royal clawed back. Cody Hudson delivered key points down the stretch and capped the comeback as the Cougars regained the lead in the match.

Facing elimination, Calgary answered again. In the fourth set, the Dinos hit .406 as a team. With the score tight late, Cole Czepuryk delivered a clutch kill to give Calgary a two-point edge as the Dinos held on to force a fifth set.

In the decider, a Luke Nodwell block helped Calgary build an early two-point lead. The Dinos extended the margin, forcing Mount Royal to burn its timeouts. The Cougars made one final push to cut the deficit to one, but Czepuryk sealed the match with a left-side kill that found the floor.

Fifth-year outside hitter Erik Godwin led Calgary with 21 kills while hitting .340. Will Kay added 17 kills, and Czepuryk finished with 16. Rookie setter Matthew Brown recorded 48 assists.

Kale Orr paced Mount Royal with 26 kills on .387 hitting. Hudson added 16 kills, and Devon Sales-Parno posted 50 assists.

Calgary advances to face the UBC Thunderbirds in a Canada West quarterfinal series beginning Thursday, Feb. 26 in Vancouver.

-UC-