CALGARY – Jaylynn Moffatt led the way with 10 kills as the University of Calgary Dinos got past the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 25-23) Friday night in Canada West women's volleyball action at the Jack Simpson Gym.
The first set opened with a series of attack errors, which made for some back-and-forth action. At 4-4 however, Calgary entered the competition with vigor, and Laura McManes slammed a kill down to give the Dinos a 10-4 lead. Following this play, Amber Adolf, Moffatt and Beth Vinnell all put down several kills each, providing the team with a significant advantage as the Dinos took the opener 25-20.
Calgary sprinted to a 7-2 lead to begin set two, and continued to steamroll past the competition. Vinnell was again a solid contributor, as were Adolf and Brianna Solberg. At 21-8, the Huskies launched an aggressive attack to score four straight points, after which the teams went into a spectacular rally that ultimately ended in favor of the Dinos. Calgary clinched the set 25-14.
Coming into the third set, Saskatchewan came out firing on all cylinders, putting all effort towards keeping pace with the Dinos. The Huskies played aggressively, forcing the Dinos to continually catch up. Calgary tied several times throughout the third set, taking their largest lead of the frame at 16-14. The teams continued to trade points in the final set, with an attack error punctuating the set in the Huskies favour as they stayed alive with a 25-23 win.
Saskatchewan was equally efficient going into the fourth set, causing the last moments of the game to be filled with tension. Tied throughout, the Dinos managed to build a slight edge with significant help from both Adolf and Vinnell. Saskatchewan managed to tie the score at 23-23, but McManes powered down two consecutive service aces to close the match at 25-23.
Moffatt led the Dinos with 10 kills on the evening, while Vinnell and McManes added nine and eight kills, respectively, to Calgary's attack. Kennedy Snape notched 17 kills, while Leah Shevkenek paired her two kills with an impressive 11 digs.
For Saskatchewan (3-4), Taylor Annala and Carissa Noble each had 10 kills, with Regan Wiebe chipping in with seven. Jenelle Sokoloski had a busy night defensively with 17 digs, while Annala added another 14 in an impressive all-around performance.
The teams will wrap up their weekend series Saturday at 4 p.m. MT, live on CanadaWest.tv.