EDMONTON – When you get to the Canada West Playoffs, the margins are extremely thin. In a match that saw 22 tied scores in just three sets, it was the U SPORTS #1 ranked Alberta Golden Bears coming away with a 3-0 win over the University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team.
Alberta finished with just six more kills on Thursday night but had an extremely efficient .377 kill percentage, as they took a 1-0 series lead in their best-of-three conference quarter-final series. Isaac Heslinga finished with a match-high 14 kills, as he was joined by Liam Espeido’s 12 kills on just 22 attempts.
Canada West First-Team All-Star Louis Kuntsmann led the Dinos with nine kills, while Cole Czepuryk scored eight kills, with Jack Kenney dishing 25 assists.
“Just a few too many errors on the spike for us. One or two of those turn into kills, and the sets get tighter,” said Dinos head coach Graham Vigrass. “I’d like us to play free tomorrow, be as present as we can. Need to have a short memory leaving the gym, and start fresh tomorrow.”
The first set was highlighted by some massive unblocked swings from both sides. Just when you thought one side would steal momentum, the other ripped down a thundering kill of their own. Espeido led Alberta with five kills in the first, to go along with Heslinga for a Bears side that led for the entirety of the opener.
Kuntsmann and Czepuryk finished with four kills each for the Dinos in set one.
The second set was extremely even, which the Bears took 25-20 despite 11 ties and two lead changes. When push came to shove, however, it was Alberta’s offence that stood out in the second. The Bears scored 14 kills to the Dinos’ eight, led by six kills on just eight attacks from Heslinga.
As a team, Alberta finished with a .458 attack rate in the second. Kuntsmann and Czepuryk combined for seven of the eight Calgary kills in the set.
Heslinga and Espedido finished with four kills each in the third set. Luke Weddell dished 10 of his match-high 33 assists in the third as Alberta ended the match with a 25-21 set win. Another set that saw nine ties, the Bears had three more digs and two fewer service errors in the closest set of the match.
Jackson Meier and Erik Godwin had four kills each in the third, but their late-match burst wasn’t enough to overcome the potent Alberta offence.
Game 2 is slated for an 8:00 p.m. start time tomorrow night at Saville Community Sports Centre.
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