Sweet, sweet vengeance

By Dale Miller

With the Dino Cup dunce cap still firmly on their heads, the male volleysaurs had a bone to pick with the Spartans–and they picked it… kinda.


“We should have beaten Trinity [Western University] in the Dino Cup,” said Head Coach Greg Ryan. “It’s all a function of being solid and consistent.”


Unfortunately, the Dinos lacked that consistency in their Fri., Nov. 28 loss. They started the night crisply with a 25-16 victory in the first game, but the tone of the match changed quickly when some very unChristian words from TWU Head Coach Ron Pike shamed the Spartans to victory in games two and three and, ultimately, the match, 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 17-15).


“On Friday night we came out strong in the first game, but we lost focus and didn’t execute in the fifth,” said third-year setter and co-captain Glen Handley. “We knew we had to win, so we pulled it out on Saturday.”


The consistency fairy must have granted some bedtime wishes for the volleysaurs Friday night, because the Dinos found a 3-0 victory under their pillows Sat., Nov. 28.


Trinity put up a good fight in the first two games, forcing the Dinos to come from behind, but the Dinos rolled over Trinity in the third–securing a solid victory (27-25, 25-23, 25-18).


“The issue we’re trying to solve is how to play consistently,” commented Ryan. “If you do, you end up with matches like Saturday.”


This is the Dinos’ third win of the season, and tying them with the Spartans for second place in the Canada West Mountain Division. With the top two teams heading to nationals, the volleysaurs are in contention at the semester break–but there is still work to do.


“A big issue for us is that we have five new guys playing together,” explained Ryan. “We need to learn to deal with it–it’s a good thing that we’ve got a break.”