The Saskatchewan Huskies were firing on all cylinders on Saturday afternoon at the Saville Community Sport Centre in Edmonton, topping the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades in Canada West men's volleyball playoff action.
The Huskies were exceedingly efficient offensively, hitting .431 as a team en route to a 25-19, 25-18, 25-20 triumph.
The Cascades' inaugural Canada West campaign come to a close after posting an 0-3 record in Pool B playoff action.
Saskatchewan (2-1), meanwhile, moves to the verge of qualifying for the second round of the CW post-season, pending the outcome of tonight's Pool B finale between the UBC Thunderbirds (1-1) and the host Alberta Golden Bears (2-0). Anything other than a three-set UBC win would send the Huskies on to the next round.
"We had a chance to move on at the start of the day, but we had to win 3-0," noted Cascades head coach
Nathan Bennett, whose squad would have also required an Alberta win over UBC to have a shot at advancing. "Once we lost that first set, it was officially over, and you could see a bit of down emotion.
"I'm proud of the way we battled through this season. We went through a lot of adversity as a first-year team this year, and the odds were against us throughout. But the growth we've had was immense, and I'm looking forward to how we continue to develop this team.
"We're looking forward to the next chapter."
Â
In Saturday's opening set, back-to-back kills from
Caleb Kastelein gave UFV a 14-12 lead, but the Huskies reeled off four straight points behind some tough serving from Dylan Mortensen to take a 16-14 advantage at the technical timeout. Saskatchewan pulled away from there, with Levi Olson and Luke Wandzura notching two kills apiece down the stretch.
Â
UFV raced out to a 7-3 lead in the second, with
Eduardo Ferreira notching a pair of kills and excelling from the service line. Mortensen once again swung the momentum his team's way, though – he sided out with a kill, then served for six straight points to stake the Huskies to a 10-7 lead. Sask would build a 16-10 lead at the technical timeout, and they cruised the rest of the way, taking it 25-18.
In the third set, Sask hit a scorching .500 as a team. They led 16-14 at the technical timeout and were able to steadily expand the margin, with Nathan Seidel closing out the match with a kill.
Â
UFV's star outside hitter
Nimo Benne was sidelined on Saturday, and in his absence, Ferreira, Kastelein and
Ryan Adams notched five kills apiece. Rookie middle
Tyson Ardell had four kills and hit .364, and setter
Jonas Van Huizen had 19 assists.
Olson paced the Huskies with 11 kills, Mortensen registered nine, and Skyler Varga had seven. Matthew Primrose had a team-best seven digs, and Jake Rapin racked up 35 assists.
Bennett made a point of getting graduating seniors
Graham Walkey and
Justin Peleshytyk onto the court in the late stages.
"Those are two guys who are closing out their carer, and they deserved to get some court time," Bennett noted. "They're big pieces of our program, and I'm happy they could see a bit of time out there."
Â
