Have you ever seen that part of Billy Madison where Adam Sandler plays dodge-ball with all the young school-kids? If you’re like me, you laughed your ass off because it was a movie, but knew that in real life it would be terrible. Well, for those of us that wondered what it would be like to actually watch the severe beating of an unsuspecting bunch of kids, the weekend’s matches between the Dinos men’s volleyball team and the U of A Golden Bears were the closest possible example.
Unfortunately for Calgary, the Bears played the role of the big mean kid on both nights. The sure-to-split Dinos couldn’t even muster up a single set win against their provincial rival. Alberta’s Pascal Cardinal was unstoppable; and Brad Bell and Cochrane phenom Sandy Henderson were nothing if not efficient.
Meanwhile, the Dinos’ own Andy Holland was hobbled with a quadriceps injury, and the rest of the team looked kind of like they were stuck in a bad dream. Seriously, it was never even close.
Fortunately for the Dinos, other Canada West teams have fared no better against the Bears, now 8-0. The conference seems to be shaping itself into three tiers: the Bears, the Manitoba Bisons and the U of S Huskies at the top; just below that, the Dinos, Trinity Western, and Winnipeg; rounding it out are UBC and Regina. All these teams could move up or down throughout the season, but it actually looks encouraging for the Dinos because five Canada West teams get a berth in the National Championships in Edmonton next March as a result of the conference winning all three medals last year.
That means out of the eight teams in contention, the Red-on-Red need only beat Regina, UBC, and Winnipeg, for example, and they can look forward to the big dance.
Rally Points:
Eric Von Engelbrechten was named player of the match Friday night, despite the thorough beating the Dinos took.
Kelly Cherniwchan took a ball to the face in warm up on Sat., Nov. 16 and was unable to play that day. He had to be taken to the hospital due to a tear in his retina. Fortunately he only lost sight in one eye and the prognosis is good—it will only be a temporary loss of vision.