On Thursday night the Cougars hosted the University of Calgary Dinos in game one of the Canada West playoffs play-in best-of-three games series.  In front of a loud and energized home crowd, the Cougars outlasted the Dinos with a game one victory on Kenyon Court.

In the regular season Mount Royal posted a 9-11 record while the Dinos were close behind with a 8-12 record. In their regular season match up, the Cougars earned key points through two clean sweeps over the Dinos. Despite this history, tonight's match carried a heightened sense of urgency from first serve to final point as playoff energy took the competition to a new level.

Mount Royal set the tone early, taking the opening set 25–20 to establish control and settle into the moment. Calgary responded strongly in the second set, flipping the momentum and pulling away for a dominant 25–16 win to level the contest. The back-and-forth nature of the opening sets reflected the pressure of playoffs, with neither side willing to give an inch.

From there, Mount Royal leaned on composure, depth, and experience to steady the match. The Cougars reclaimed momentum, closing out the third set 25–20, and then carried that confidence into the fourth set, once again edging the Dinos 25–20 to end the match and earn a game one play-in series win.

Offensively, Mount Royal was led by Kale Orr, who finished with 22 kills and provided a reliable scoring presence whenever the Cougars needed it most. Erik Godwin led the Dinos, recording 12 kills and helping keep the Dinos engaged through long stretches of play.

"We focused on executing the little things and staying composed when it mattered," said Kale Orr. "Now we're excited to bring that momentum home tomorrow and keep building." 

Beyond the stat line, Mount Royal's defensive coverage and ability to execute in key moments allowed the Cougars to control critical rallies and limit Calgary's opportunities to swing momentum late in sets. The Dinos return to Keyone Court to face the Cougars again tomorrow, Friday, at 7 PM in game two of the Canada West playoffs play-in best-of-three series.