The regular season is nearing an end and the Dinos women’s volleyball team is still pulling out the wins. Following in the men’s footsteps the ladies were able to sweep the University of Regina Cougars this past weekend in two straight matches.
The Dinos came out looking strong all weekend long but started to burn out fast after ten points, allowing the Cougars to jump back into the games. Games the Dinos should have easily taken, became drawn out, and the Dinos found themselves fighting to take the sets.
There were bright spots to the weekend, like the performances of Sara Onofrychuck, Anna Columbos, and setter Natalie Schwartz who returned after an ankle injury that put her out for the first half of the season.
“It was good to have Natalie back in the line up” stated Head Coach Kevin Boyles. “Even though our timing was a bit off on the kills, it was understandable, seeing the team has not played much with Natalie in a game situation.”
Unfortunately, just when it looked like the Dinos were showing off their depth, they ended up losing Columbos to a knee injury suffered in Friday’s game, and had to sit middle Jill Friend due to pain in her shins.
Boyles however, is not too worried– he knows he still has the tools to get the job done.
“Sara Onofrychuck came in and played amazing for Jill Friend and brought lots of energy,” continued Boyles. “She has not played in a while but now it’s nice to know we have the option to play her if we need to.”
Though the weekend was a showcase for new faces, it was the veterans of the team who still shined. Tara Deeks stayed solid with a total of 39 digs, but no one put up numbers like team captain Amanda Moppett who had a total of 36 kills, 29 digs and five aces over the weekend. If there was one word to describe her play it would have to be “clutch”–she helped hold her team in tight games, was solid on serves, and kept her head cool.
“She just dominated,” said Boyles–a worthy description of Moppett’s game.
Moppett has also been named Canada West Female Athlete of the week thanks to her solid performance.
After this weekend’s wins the Dinos have now clinched third place in the Canada West Conference, which means home court advantage for the playoffs. This will be huge for Calgary seeing they are so solid at home. But the team will still need to bring their “A” game regardless of where they play, if they want to prolong their season. NOTE:
Tracy Keats does not only play middle for her team, but is also their team captain.