The 16th annual Dino Cup came to a close on Saturday with a bittersweet victory for the Dinos in the bronze medal match. For only the second time in the tournament's history the Dinos failed to qualify for the final.

After opening the tournament with a disappointing loss to the University of the Pacific Tigers, the Dinos bounced back with a 3-0 win over the University of Regina Cougars who finished 0-4 on the weekend. Needing to beat the Stanford Cardinal to gain a berth in the final, the Dinos came up short again, losing in straight sets. The Dinos would again meet the lowly Cougars in the bronze medal game, while Pacific and Stanford would square off in the final.

Bronze Medal:

The Dinos improved their overall tournament record to 2-2 with yet another 3-0 win over Regina. Fifth-year outside hitter Andy Holland paced the Dinos attack with 12 kills, while tournament All-Star libero Kelly Cherniwchan dug 14 balls to lead all players.

Gold Medal:

The Stanford Cardinal made good on their second attempt at the Pacific Tigers in front of 1,500 fans, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to claim Dino Cup gold. Billy Strickland and Paul Bocage led the Cardinal with 15 and 14 kills respectively, and Bocage was named the MVP for the tournament. For the Tigers, a silver medal is their first in Dino Cup competition, going winless in their two previous appearances. Pacific was paced by Nils Daubers and Aaron Watchfogel, each with 18 kills.



Other Notes:

By failing to win a single set all weekend, the Regina Cougars extend their losing streak from the middle of last season, when they stole a single set against the Dinos each night; the only sets they won all year.