CALGARY – With a team high 12 kills and a .647 hitting percentage, Dinos rookie Cole Czepuryk helped lead the University of Calgary Dinos men’s volleyball team to a dominant 3-0 set sweep against the Trinity Western Spartans in their final home game of the regular season.
The Saturday evening match at the Jack Simpson Gym marks the first time since February 2016 that the Dinos took down TWU, and it couldn’t have happened on a more important night than the Senior Appreciation night.
The first set started with both teams trading points, before the Dinos started to slowly increase their lead thanks to a quick three-kill run by Czepuryk, putting them up 14-10. It wasn’t long until that lead was extended by outside hitter Erik Godwin who, with a few quick strategic kills, had the Dinos at a five-point lead sitting at 19-14. Although the Spartans managed to close that gap with a few ace serves, it wasn’t quite enough as the Dinos closed out the first set 25-21.
Set two started much the same for the Dinos, with Czepuryk finding the early lead for Calgary. That opened the floodgates for the Dinos, who never looked back once finding their rhythm. With a few big plays from the seniors, Louis Kunstmann with the kills, and Jackson Meier with the blocks, there was assurance for the Dinos, who kept a consistent four-point lead, eventually widening to a six-point lead from the Spartans at 18-12, which maintained until the final score of 25-19.
What turned out to be the final set of the match was a tight one-point game until about halfway through, when the Dinos offense took their stride. Setter Zach Durrant, who posted 25 assists in the match, quickly set up Czepuryk yet again, getting through the Spartans defense. It wasn’t long before Kunstmann and Meier were in on the action, contributing to a 17-12 lead. TWU was not to be counted out yet though, as their offense quickly tied it up to 19-19 with their aggressive kills in addition to some Dinos service errors. The set closed out the way it began, with a tight one-point trade between teams before the Dinos took the win, posting a 26-24 score.
“Seeing how they’ve changed, it’s been fun learning who they are.” Dinos head coach Graham Vigrass mentioned about his seniors.
“I think we learned a lot yesterday about what our level could be and just performed better today. We had a few less simple errors today, and that was the difference between winning and losing.”
The Dinos will return to the court Friday in Brandon, Manitoba against the Bobcats, starting at 5 p.m.
The Spartans will receive a bye week, before battling the UFV Cascades at home on Feb. 6.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login