CALGARY – The Brnaodn Bobcats pushed the University of Calgary Dinos Saturday night but the Dinos' defence prevailed in an electric four-set win against the Brandon (25-23,17-25, 25-14, 25-23) to sweep the weekend series. 
 
Kenzie Vaandering blazed a trail for the Dinos, responsible for 12 kills, two service aces and nine digs. Beth Vinnell and Trinity Solecki chipped in with 11 and seven kills respectively. Veteran setter Jamie Bain directed a balanced attack as Bobcat outsides Katie Primeau, Nicole Ashauer and Ravyn Wiebe each added 12, 11 and nine to the Bobcats' 48 total kills.
 
Set 1 of Saturday night's clash proved to be a game of errors, as both teams struggled to produce offense and control their serves. Midway through the game, a technical timeout brought Calgary back to life and the Dinos squad came out with their foot on the gas for an eight-point run. Brandon responded, coming within two, but killer line shots from Vaandering powered a 25-23 win for the Dinos.
 
In the second set, Brandon regained its footing and approached round two with tenacity, gaining an early ten-point lead against the struggling Dinos squad. The Bobcats offense found their rhythm early on in this set, as right-side attacker Nicole Ashauer registered five kills and outside hitter Katie Primeau garnered four, accumulating a .300 hitting percentage accuracy compared to Calgary's -.030.
 
Aggressive serving was essential for the Dinos' success in the third set as they locked down five service aces, three coming from Trinity Solecki alone. The Dinos again out blocked the Bobcats as part of a five-block effort from Beth Vinnell. Unable to pull together on defence when it mattered most, crucial ball-handling errors from the Bobcats allowed Calgary to charge through with a 25-14 win.
 
Although the Bobcats out swung the Dinos with 142 total attacks to 123, relentless defence was a key component of the Dinos' fourth set victory.
 
"Both of our liberos were really good tonight, especially Kennedy Snape leading all diggers with 10, she was awesome," said head coach Natalie Gurnsey. "As well, Sydney Austin went in and stabilized the right-side position – she did a really good job defensively, reducing errors and providing some energy for us."
 
The Dinos improve to 6-10 while the Bobcats drop to 4-14 in conference play. Brandon will head into a week off, while the Dinos will be back in action next week as they take on crosstown rivals, the Mount Royal Cougars at the 2020 Crowchild Classic, 11 a.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday evening.