Like climbing Everest, the challenge of getting to the top is never easy, especially with an inexperienced team. But inexperience is not stopping these Dinos from climbing to the top of their division.
Calgary was able to take both matches this weekend against the University of Saskatchewan, a team desperately fighting to stay in playoff contention. But the Dinos were ready… somewhat.
“We had a terrible start on Friday, we got ourselves down 13-3 right off the bat,” said libero Tara Deeks. “We weren’t prepared, but we didn’t panic, we had players from the bench who were able to come in and play well.”
Even though Calgary was able to take the first match 3-0 the Dinos did not play to their full potential.
“We should have been fresh and not rusty,” stated captain Amanda Moppett. “But we weren’t. It might have been the fact that we had a week off, but that’s never an excuse. [Head Coach] Kevin [Boyles] even told us ‘you need to go out and take the first few points’ and we just didn’t.”
A positive for the Dinos was the fact that they managed to stay cool, and came back from the deficit. This showed a lot of heart and a desire to win.
Saturday was a different story. The team was focused and ready to go. The Dinos were able to take the second match 4-1, with only really one slip up, which came in the third game. Calgary was up 22-17 and just could not close.
“We have a tendency to relax and lay back once we hit 20, we almost just expect to win,” stated Deeks.
The Dinos closed off the first half of the season with two wins and should feel confident for the next half. But it will be the first game after the break that will tell the true story.
“We know we have a lot of work to do to prepare ourselves for the next half of the season,” said Moppett. “We need to be fit both mentally and physically.”
The Dinos play their first games at home Jan. 3-4 against the University of Manitoba Bisons. The games are sure to entertain, as the Bisons beat out the Dinos for the national title last season.