MVB: Golden Bears Advance with win over Dinos
March 19, 2022
LANGLEY, British Columbia - The No. 3 Alberta Golden Bears defeated the No. 8 Calgary Dinos 3-1 in a tightly contested match in Friday night's second semi-final to advance to the Canada West championship match Saturday evening. The Bears were slightly better than the Dinos taking the match 27-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22. In total points Alberta outscored Calgary 100-96.
Isaac Heslinga with 20 kills, 16 digs and three blocks for 21.5 points and Jordan Canham with 17 kills, 10 digs, and one block for 18.5 points led the Golden Bears, while Hamish Hazelden with 18 kills, and 12 digs for 20.0 points and Lincoln Baines with 10 kills, seven digs and seven blocks for 14 points led the Dinos.
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was a tight contest from the start. The Calgary Dinos led 8-7 early, but the Alberta Golden Bears took a one point lead 16-15 into the technical break. The two teams remained even to extra points. After two set point attempts the Bears finally took the opening set 27-25. The Golden Bears hit at .297 (15-4-37) in the opening set, while the Dinos hit at .081 (11-8-37). Calgary had one ace and four service errors, while Alberta had zero aces and nine service errors. The Golden Bears also out blocked the Dinos 3.5-1.
Calgary again led 8-7 in the early part of the set, and looked to be on their way to evening up the match with a four point,16-12, lead at the technical break. But the Golden Bears quickly tied the set at 19-19 with a 7-3 run. From there it was a deuce point set. The two teams were tied at 24-24,when Alberta took the final two points to take the set 26-24 and a 2-0 lead in sets. The Golden Bears hit at .250 (16-6-40) in the second set, while the Dinos hit at .297 (15-4-37). Calgary out blocked Alberta 4.5-1. Calgary finished the set with two aces and three errors, while Alberta finished with three aces and one error.
Alberta came out swinging in the third set and jumped out to a quick four point lead, 5-1 and looked to be going into the technical break with a sizable lead, up 15-11. But Calgary wouldn't let the ball drop as they took five straight points to lead 16-15 at the technical break. From there it was a battle for the match. The two teams played side out ball and were tied up at 20-20 as the set reached its final points. The Dinos were the better team in the final points taking the second set 25-22. Calgary hit at .214 (13-4-42), while Alberta hit at .170 (15-6-130). Calgary had one ace and two errors serving, while Alberta had zero aces and five errors. The Dinos had a 2-0 edge in total blocks.
The Golden Bears had another strong start to the set taking an early 5-0 lead. But the Dinos quickly responded and tied the set up at 6-6. The two teams exchanged points and were tied at 8-8 when the Golden Bears jumped out to a three point, 14-11, lead. The Dinos cut the lead to 14-13, before the Bears went into the technical break leading 16-13. Alberta extended the lead to four point, 21-17, and forced Calgary into a late timeout. The Dinos cut into the Bears lead and trailed by two points, 23-21, as Alberta took a timeout to slow done Calgary. The Bears took the next point, and the Dinos fended off one match point before Alberta took the final set 25-22. In the final set the Bears hit at .387 (17-5-31), while the Dinos hit at .125 (10-6-32).
NOTABLE
Alberta Head Coach Brock Davidiuk
"Calgary has improved immensely through the year. We handled them really easily the first couple of times we played them. And that changed in the second semester. They've gotten a lot better. Last time we played we had a big injury with Braedon Friesen. That really changed what we were doing with our line-up. Since then we had to figure out what our line-up was going to be and we have had a lot more time to figure that out and gain momentum. We were able to outlast them tonight, but they have gotten better it feels like every time we have played them."
On tonight's match
"We talk a lot about problem solving and we were really inconsistent tonight, but we problem solved and we figured things out and that was the main thing."
Calgary Head Coach Rod Durrant
"Two pretty even teams playing tonight. The first two sets were decided by two point, which was really close. We had our opportunities in the first two sets. I thought our guys bounced back well in the third. And then they did a really good job on the defensive end. Two very good teams battling for a chance to go to the national championships and I thought our guys showed up and did all that they could tonight."
"We've played them seven times this year. We're two teams who know each other very well and I think we match up really well against each other. They did a good job on the block defensive end. They did a better job on the defensive end. They dug some big balls and we really had to work hard to score points against them tonight and all the credit to them."
UP NEXT
The Alberta Golden Bears will play in the Canada West Championship against the Trinity Western Spartans tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. While the Calgary Dinos will play against the Brandon Bobcats tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. for the Canada West Bronze Medal and a berth at next week's national championship at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB. Both matches can be seen live on Canadawest.tv.
ABOUT CANADA WEST
Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships.
Canada West - training leaders, building champions.
-TW-
Isaac Heslinga with 20 kills, 16 digs and three blocks for 21.5 points and Jordan Canham with 17 kills, 10 digs, and one block for 18.5 points led the Golden Bears, while Hamish Hazelden with 18 kills, and 12 digs for 20.0 points and Lincoln Baines with 10 kills, seven digs and seven blocks for 14 points led the Dinos.
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was a tight contest from the start. The Calgary Dinos led 8-7 early, but the Alberta Golden Bears took a one point lead 16-15 into the technical break. The two teams remained even to extra points. After two set point attempts the Bears finally took the opening set 27-25. The Golden Bears hit at .297 (15-4-37) in the opening set, while the Dinos hit at .081 (11-8-37). Calgary had one ace and four service errors, while Alberta had zero aces and nine service errors. The Golden Bears also out blocked the Dinos 3.5-1.
Calgary again led 8-7 in the early part of the set, and looked to be on their way to evening up the match with a four point,16-12, lead at the technical break. But the Golden Bears quickly tied the set at 19-19 with a 7-3 run. From there it was a deuce point set. The two teams were tied at 24-24,when Alberta took the final two points to take the set 26-24 and a 2-0 lead in sets. The Golden Bears hit at .250 (16-6-40) in the second set, while the Dinos hit at .297 (15-4-37). Calgary out blocked Alberta 4.5-1. Calgary finished the set with two aces and three errors, while Alberta finished with three aces and one error.
Alberta came out swinging in the third set and jumped out to a quick four point lead, 5-1 and looked to be going into the technical break with a sizable lead, up 15-11. But Calgary wouldn't let the ball drop as they took five straight points to lead 16-15 at the technical break. From there it was a battle for the match. The two teams played side out ball and were tied up at 20-20 as the set reached its final points. The Dinos were the better team in the final points taking the second set 25-22. Calgary hit at .214 (13-4-42), while Alberta hit at .170 (15-6-130). Calgary had one ace and two errors serving, while Alberta had zero aces and five errors. The Dinos had a 2-0 edge in total blocks.
The Golden Bears had another strong start to the set taking an early 5-0 lead. But the Dinos quickly responded and tied the set up at 6-6. The two teams exchanged points and were tied at 8-8 when the Golden Bears jumped out to a three point, 14-11, lead. The Dinos cut the lead to 14-13, before the Bears went into the technical break leading 16-13. Alberta extended the lead to four point, 21-17, and forced Calgary into a late timeout. The Dinos cut into the Bears lead and trailed by two points, 23-21, as Alberta took a timeout to slow done Calgary. The Bears took the next point, and the Dinos fended off one match point before Alberta took the final set 25-22. In the final set the Bears hit at .387 (17-5-31), while the Dinos hit at .125 (10-6-32).
NOTABLE
- The Golden Bears are 28-25 lifetime in CW conference play against the Dinos.
- In their last meeting the Dinos defeated the Golden Bears 3-1 on Feb. 19.
- The Golden Bears and the Dinos spilt the season series this year at 3-3.
- The last time the Bears and Dinos met in the post season was in 2017-18 when Alberta took the best of three series 2-0 winning 3-1 and 3-2.
- Alberta finished the evening hitting .261 (63-21-161), while Calgary hit .182 (49-22-148).
- Calgary out blocked Alberta 11-6.5 and had a 5-3 edge in service aces. The Bears made 20 service errors, while the Dinos made 11.
- The four set match took two hours and 20 minutes to complete.
Alberta Head Coach Brock Davidiuk
"Calgary has improved immensely through the year. We handled them really easily the first couple of times we played them. And that changed in the second semester. They've gotten a lot better. Last time we played we had a big injury with Braedon Friesen. That really changed what we were doing with our line-up. Since then we had to figure out what our line-up was going to be and we have had a lot more time to figure that out and gain momentum. We were able to outlast them tonight, but they have gotten better it feels like every time we have played them."
On tonight's match
"We talk a lot about problem solving and we were really inconsistent tonight, but we problem solved and we figured things out and that was the main thing."
Calgary Head Coach Rod Durrant
"Two pretty even teams playing tonight. The first two sets were decided by two point, which was really close. We had our opportunities in the first two sets. I thought our guys bounced back well in the third. And then they did a really good job on the defensive end. Two very good teams battling for a chance to go to the national championships and I thought our guys showed up and did all that they could tonight."
"We've played them seven times this year. We're two teams who know each other very well and I think we match up really well against each other. They did a good job on the block defensive end. They did a better job on the defensive end. They dug some big balls and we really had to work hard to score points against them tonight and all the credit to them."
UP NEXT
The Alberta Golden Bears will play in the Canada West Championship against the Trinity Western Spartans tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. While the Calgary Dinos will play against the Brandon Bobcats tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. for the Canada West Bronze Medal and a berth at next week's national championship at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, MB. Both matches can be seen live on Canadawest.tv.
ABOUT CANADA WEST
Since 1972, Canada West (CW) has been a leader in Canadian university sport, working to provide our student-athletes the opportunities to excel in sport, the classroom, and their communities. CW and our 17 members from across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba collectively carry on a legacy of competitive excellence, as our champions proudly go on to represent the conference at U SPORTS national championships.
Canada West - training leaders, building champions.
-TW-