Collegiate

Dino Tracks: Nov, 4-11, 2026

by
Calgary Dinos
November 4, 2026

Volleyball returns to Jack Simpson Gym as the University of Calgary Dinos open their home schedule against the UBC Okanagan Heat. The Dinos are coming off a bye week that followed a season-opening road set at the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds, in which UBC won 3-0 in the first meeting, with Sam Kay leading Calgary with eight kills. The next night, the Dinos trailed 2-0 before taking the third set 26-24, but UBC closed out a 3-1 win, as Cole Czepuryk recorded 11 kills and Max Grantham added 10.

UBCO is 1-1 after splitting its opening weekend against the Brandon Bobcats, with Calgary being its first Canada West road opponent. The Heat lost the opener 3-2, falling 17-15 in the final set. They bounced back the next night with a 3-1 win, in which fifth-year middle Thys Weststrate tied a UBCO school record with seven aces.

Player to Watch: Sam Kay – He co-leads the Dinos in kills with 13 through two games, level with Cole Czepuryk.

While Christine Biggs‘ Dinos team also open their home schedule against UBCO, coming off a road set at the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds. The Dinos took the opening set 28-26 before UBC rallied to win the next three. The next night, Calgary dropped the opening two sets but led 13-11 and 20-19 in the third set before UBC closed out the set and finished the 3-0 sweep. Leni Blanke had 10 kills to add to her 5 from the previous night, and Anya Fehr had 51 assists in the across the two fixtures.

The UBC Okanagan Heat began their season by beating the Brandon Bobcats 3-1 on Oct. 23 and 3-0 on Oct. 24. Marija Josipovic recorded 16 kills, 22 digs and eight blocks across the two games, while fifth-year setter Kylan Finseth racked up 62 assists.

Player to Watch: Julia Tuckwood – She led the Dinos with 12 kills in the opening match at UBC and added four more on Oct. 24.

Evelyn Lawrence’s late equalizer forced overtime in the Dinos’ last outing against MacEwan, before Calgary went on to win the shootout and split the weekend series. The Griffins took the opening game 2-1 in Edmonton, but the Dinos responded in the rematch. With goaltenders Taya Currie and Maisie Cope trading saves in a scoreless contest, Peyton Mages’ goal looked to have secured the win for MacEwan, before Lawrence struck with seconds remaining to send the game to overtime. Kyla Mitenko and Mikayla Blomquist both converted in the shootout, while Cope stopped two attempts to secure the victory and snap the Dinos’ three-game losing streak.
The Alberta Pandas are 1-5, with their lone win coming in their season opener against MacEwan. They most recently lost twice to the Mount Royal Cougars, 2-0 and then 4-3 after giving up a two-goal lead. Abbey Bourdeaud’hui leads the Pandas in shots, goals and points for the season.

Player to Watch: Brooklyn Fry: The fourth-year defender leads the Dinos in assists this year with five.

A home-and-away set against Alberta also awaits the men’s team, who fell to successive defeats to MacEwan last time out. The Dinos fell 3-1 on Friday, before two late goals from the Griffins inflicted a 4-2 defeat on Saturday.

The Golden Bears have begun the regular season with a record of 2-4-0, suffering four straight defeats against Manitoba and Mount Royal after sweeping the Griffins in their opening games. Fourth-year Alex Thacker has been the standout player for Alberta to start the year, picking up three goals and one assist across the opening six conference games.

Player to Watch: Logan Hauer: After scoring in the repeat with MacEwan, the third-year forward took his tally to five goals for the campaign.

The reigning Canada West champions raised their banner before the season opener on Oct. 30 ahead of their two-game series against the National Champions Saskatchewan. The Huskies entered the season ranked as the No.3 side, and won 66-59 on the opening night. Milica Gajic scoring 13 points and four assists and Maya Charles scoring 11 points off the bench in her Dinos debut. Saskatchewan would go on to claim a 66-50 win the next day. Kourtney Oss led the Dinos on Oct. 31 with 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Calgary hit seven of 15 three-pointers.

The Mount Royal Cougars opened their home schedule by sweeping the MacEwan Griffins to move to 2-0 in Canada West play. Finding themselves down by five points heading into the fourth quarter, MRU mounted a comeback to win 57-54 on Oct. 30, before going on to secure a comfotable 59-43 win the following night. Temi Ajayi recorded 23 points and 14 rebounds across the two games, with Elise Carline pitching in with 17 points and 16 rebounds in the two wins.

Player to Watch: Kourtney Oss – The fifth-year forward recorded a combined 22 points and 25 rebounds across the two games against Saskatchewan.

The Dinos split their season-opening weekend with the Saskatchewan Huskies, leaving them 1-1 in Canada West play. Calgary won 84-73 on Oct. 30 for its ninth straight victory over the Huskies. Rookie Zane MacFarlane had a debut to remember, scoring 29 points on the night and Daniel Chijioke adding 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. The Dinos trailed by as many as 22 the following night but outscored the Huskies in the fourth quarter to mount a comeback, however eventually falling 85-75 to end the winning streak. Chijioke scored 25 points with six rebounds and five blocks, and MacFarlane had 22 points.

The Mount Royal Cougars are 2-0 in Canada West play after winning 83-72 and 97-87 at the MacEwan Griffins on Oct. 30 and 31. Those results open a home weekend at Kenyon Court for MRU.

Player to Watch: Zane MacFarlane – The rookie scored 29 points in his debut and 22 the next night, and shot 12 of 14 from the free-throw line over the weekend.

Non-Conference Events
Swimming – University Cup – Pacific
Saturday, Nov. 7 to Sunday, Nov. 8 | Vancouver, B.C.

-UC-