The Bisons women’s volleyball team faced the University of Calgary Dinos at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Thursday, Oct. 30 and Friday, Oct. 31. They won the first game 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-15, 25-21) before losing 3–0 in the rematch.
In game one of the weekend, the Bisons won with a better attacking efficiency which made the difference throughout the match. In set one, the herd took early control, edging the Dinos 25-22 and setting the tone with a potent attack (.444 hitting). The second set had the Dinos responding with renewed energy, which allowed them to win 25-21 despite the Bisons’ strong hitting (.348). The third set saw the Bisons dominate with a huge margin, posting a .700 hitting percentage and claiming a 25-15 victory, and in the fourth set, the herd maintained their momentum. There were less errors and they closed the contest 25-21. Raya Surinx for the Bisons was a clear standout with 18 kills.
In the second match, the Dinos flipped the script. Calgary won the match 3-0 (25–22, 25–19, 25–21). The Bisons tried to put on a strong show, but it was not enough to fend off the Dinos. Initially, the Dinos were able to create a large gap, but the Bisons nearly caught up. However, in the end, the Dinos edged past to take the third and final set 25-22.
The second set saw the Dinos doing small flicks over the net, breaking the Bisons’ defence, but the herd was not giving up. The Bisons were able to get kills, and both teams were evenly matched in skill and points. Midway through the set, the Dinos were able to exploit the cracks in the Bisons’ defence, allowing them to edge ahead and finally win the set 25-19.
The third set witnessed the Dinos showing skillful defence that stopped the herd’s attacks while they continued finding gaps in the Bisons’ defence. The Bisons tried many offensive attempts, but they were fended off by the Dinos’ blocks. The set ended with the Dinos winning 25-21.
Despite the loss, Eve Catojo and Surinx were both able to get 10 kills for the herd. Kalyssa Komori for the Dinos was able to get 14 kills with only one error. The Dinos and the Bisons were close when it came to kills, with 40 to 35, but when it came to block assists, the Dinos had 20 to the Bisons’ four.
Following the game, the Bisons women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley reflected on his team’s performance. He said, “[The Dinos] just flat out played better than us today. They competed harder, they played better defence, they pretty much beat us in every phase of the game today.”
When asked if any changes would be made for the next game, Bentley responded, “Each part of our game had to be better tonight than it was, obviously, we lost 3-0. The second leg’s always harder, we certainly weren’t prepared for that by the looks of it.”
Reflecting further on the opponent team’s technical performance, Bentley said, “[The Dinos] blocked great today. We didn’t pass well, and they got a few blockers up on everything that we set, and they put it to us at the net for sure. They were the dominant team at the net today.”
The Bisons play the Brandon University Bobcats in two weeks. When asked about his expectations for that match, Bentley said, “We have a weekend off coming up, which is good for us, and we have two weeks to practice and get ready to go to Brandon and play better volleyball. So that’ll be our goal.”
The Bisons women’s volleyball team will face the Brandon Bobcats on Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. CT and Saturday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. CT in Brandon, Manitoba.
