By Randy Lewis
After suffering a disappointing home sweep at the hands of the Manitoba Bisons earlier this month, the Dinos rebounded nicely this past weekend with a sweep of their own against the Bison’s cross-town cousins, the University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
On Friday night, the Dinos jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead only to have it disappear when the Wesmen stormed back to tie the match at two apiece. However the U of C was able to recover and win a tight fifth set 15-13.
"We struggled a little bit [Friday night]," admitted Head Coach Greg Ryan. "In rally point scoring, you can’t make a lot of errors because there’s no time to recover."
Saturday evening’s match provided the Dinos with an opportunity to demonstrate the depth of their team, as Canada West all-star Bill Byma did not take to the court due to illness. Third-year power hitter Andy Holland played in his place, and according to Ryan "played outstandingly." In addition, Mark Ellingson continued his solid play of late finishing with a kill efficiency of 57 per cent as the Dinos rolled over the Wesmen 3-1 to improve their Canada West leading record to 13-3.
Ryan also had praise for other members of the Dinos.
"For the first time in the second half [of Saturday’s game], the middle hitters (Wes Montgomery and Jon Walsh) and setter (Lee Czernick) began to click."
The Dinos’ travelling road show continues this weekend when Calgary heads into Saskatchewan to tangle with the fourth-ranked Huskies.