CALGARY – The University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team exacted revenge on the UBC Thunderbirds Saturday, coming back from a two sets to none deficit to win in five sets (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-11) at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
"A frustrating night in the sense that that we played a bit flat and just were not as crisp as we needed to be. Especially after we got up two sets," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer.
Danielle Brisebois was her usual attacking self for the Thunderbirds with 17 kills and 12 digs, while Allessandra Gentile contributed 27 assists and 5 digs.
After dropping the weekend opener in four sets last night, the Dinos found themselves playing catch up out of the gate Saturday. A 4-0 run along with a 4-1 run gave the Thunderbirds an 11-6 lead early on. Calgary closed the margin to one at 22-21 forcing a UBC timeout, but that was as close as they got, as the Thunderbirds closed out the set with three straight points.
The second set saw the Dinos once again fall behind early as the Thunderbirds jumped out to a 7-2 lead. UBC never relinquished this lead despite the Dinos best efforts, who managed to cut the deficit to two points at 22-20.
With the 25-22 win the Thunderbirds held a commanding 2-0 set lead in the match.
Calgary was finally able to play with a lead in the third set, heading into the technical timeout up 16-13. The Thunderbirds were able to tie things up at 17, but back-to-back kills put the Dinos ahead again. Calgary got to set point and finished it off a point later.
In the fourth set the Dinos returned to their early struggles falling behind 5-0 before tying it up on the back of a 6-1 run. After both teams traded points the Dinos grabbed three in a row to head into the technical timeout up 16-13 for the second straight set. The Thunderbirds were able to tie it up one more time at 18 all, but Calgary held off UBC's attack, and forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win.
In the fifth and deciding set the Dinos jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead following multiple Thunderbirds attacking errors. Calgary headed into the technical timeout up two but UBC rallied and grabbed an 11-10 lead. Calgary answered with a kill, followed by a service ace to give themselves the lead once again. They went on to a 15-11 final set win.
"No one area or individual but as a group we didn't have the consistent execution, or the ability to adapt well enough after Calgary made some adjustments and played with more intensity," added Reimer. "We will regroup, address some things and look forward to competing hard down the stretch."
With the split the Dinos remained tied with the Thunderbirds at 14-4. Both teams enjoy the bye next weekend before returning to action Feb. 10-11 when UBC will host Regina while Calgary will visit Saskatchewan.
