Dinos women looking for revenge on the court against UBCO Heat
Fresh off a bye week, the University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team will face an old foe, hosting the UBC Okanagan Heat in a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff matchup.
During last year’s post-season series, the Dinos took the opening game before dropping two straight to the Heat to bow out of the Canada West playoffs.
The first game this weekend is set for Thursday at Jack Simpson Gym (6 p.m., Canada West.TV) as part of the Dinos Block Party. Calgary and UBCO will then meet again on the court at Friday at Jack Simpson Gym (5 p.m., Canada West.TV).
Previous to their bye week, the Dinos downed the Saskatchewan Huskies in four sets for back-toback wins. On Friday, the win came with set scores of 25-20, 25-14, 2325, 25-23.
Jaylynn Moffatt and Beth Vinnell led Calgary with 10 and nine kills respectively, while Kennedy Snape added some much needed support, registering 17 digs. On Saturday, Calgary battled to set scores of 26-24, 25-21, 20-25, 2522, and it was Laura McManes who led the team, notching 13 kills. Moffatt also assisted the Dinos with 13 kills and three blocks, while Hannah Tanasichuk registered seven kills.
Calgary, currently tied for the Canada West lead with eight wins, has registered 528 digs over the course of 39 sets, averaging 13.54 digs per set. The team also averages 11.79 kills per set and has a hitting percentage of .207.
The Heat currently holds an 8-2 record and own a five-game winning streak. In their last games, UBCO squared off against the Regina Cougars and managed to close out the weekend with a clean sweep. The Heat will rely heavily on Aidan Lea, who ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage at .374 to go along with 103 kills. Sara McCreary, who ranks first for assists per set will also be an asset. Ann Richards leads the Heat with 111 kills on the season, while Sophia Furlan has 123 digs.
The Heat rank first in the conference in hitting at .243 and have recorded 12.03 assists per set and 14.55 digs per set.
On the men’s side, the Dinos return to action at the Jack for a pair of games against the Heat, beginning with a Block Party of their own Thursday night (7:30 p.m., Canada West.TV).
With a pair of wins in their last set of games versus the Huskies, the Dinos hold a record of 7-3 and sit among the conference’s top teams. The Heat come to town looking to improve on their .500 record through 10 games, having already won their last four games.
There should be no shortage of blocks this weekend, especially from Calgary. Second-year middle Liam Laidlaw leads the conference with 54 blocks, averaging 1.38 blocks per set. Even though he has played only 39 sets this season, he has six more blocks than Winnipeg Wesmen’s Ethan Duncan, the second-ranked blocker in Canada West. Joshua Harvey tops UBCO with 36 blocks.
Alex Badar also ranks high in Canada West statistics with the second-best hitting percentage at .360. As a team, the Dinos have a .265 hitting percentage, compared to the Heats who have posted a .212 percentage.
The final game in the men’s v-ball series goes Friday at the Jack (6:30 p.m., Canada West.TV).