LANGLEY, B.C. – In a rubber match of arguably the best series in men's volleyball in all of Canada this season, No. 3 University of Alberta Golden Bears were able to do just enough to advance past the No. 8 University of Calgary Dinos Friday night in a Canada West Final Four showdown from the Langley Events Centre.
 
After splitting the regular-season series 3-3, the Golden Bears did just enough in an incredibly tight matchup to advance to Saturday's CW Championship with the win, 27-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-22.
 
Hamish Hazelden once again led the way for the Dinos offensively with 18 kills on the night. Lincoln Baines also tallied double figures with 10 kills, while Erik Godwin added eight.
 
Tomas Sorra dished out 36 assists on the night and Jacob Reid provided a nice spark off the bench with six assists of his own.
 
Defensively, Sorra and Hazelden each had 12 digs on the night to lead the Dinos, while Parker Siroishka added eight. 
 
Baines was once again a brick wall at the net with seven blocks on the night to lead all players.
 
Isaac Heslinga led the way for the Golden Bears Friday, finishing with 20 kills, 16 digs and three blocks.
 
In the opening frame, neither team could create any separation the whole way. Alberta grabbed the largest lead of the set at 5-2, only to see Calgary answer right back to take an 8-7 lead after an ace from Hazelden. Godwin had two clutch kills late to tie things up at 25-all and send it to extras, but Alberta was able to find back-to-back points to just squeak out the opener.
 
It was a similar story in the second as the two squads were neck-and-neck the whole way. The Dinos took a 24-23 lead late after a kill from Siroishka, but once again the Golden Bears were able to do just enough late to take the 2-0 lead.
 
Despite the 2-0 hole, Calgary refused to quit. The Dinos answered back in a big way in the third, using a 7-0 run after Reid was subbed in to jump ahead 17-15. Alberta was able to tie things back up at 21-all, but the Dinos once again rallied and rattled off four of the next before Hazelden hammered one home for the win to close the gap.
 
The fourth set, however, reverted to the original storyline as Alberta was able to do just enough down the stretch to eek out yet another tight set and the win.
 
The Golden Bears now advance to Saturday's Canada West Championship, taking on the host and No. 1 ranked Trinity Western Spartans. Meanwhile, the Dinos move on to face the Brandon Bobcats in the bronze-medal match, scheduled for a first serve at 5 p.m. MT on Saturday. 
 
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Alberta Head Coach Brock Davidiuk
"Calgary has improved immensely through the year. We handled them really easily the first couple of times we played them. And that changed in the second semester. They've gotten a lot better. Last time we played we had a big injury with Braedon Friesen. That really changed what we were doing with our line-up. Since then we had to figure out what our line-up was going to be and we have had a lot more time to figure that out and gain momentum. We were able to outlast them tonight, but they have gotten better it feels like every time we have played them."
 
On tonight's match
"We talk a lot about problem solving and we were really inconsistent tonight, but we problem solved and we figured things out and that was the main thing."