SASKATOON – The defending Canada West champion Brandon Bobcats men's volleyball team remains undefeated after taking down the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) on Saturday, Nov. 2 on Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC.
After taking down the Huskies in a four-set match on Friday evening, the Bobcats recorded a three-set victory on Saturday to take the series sweep.
Despite keeping it close in all three sets, Saskatchewan was unable to close out any of their three sets in the match, as Brandon never seemed to waver down the stretch.
The Bobcats, who also started last season 4-0, remain the only unbeaten team in the Canada West with their 4-0 record.
The Huskies fell to the .500 mark with the loss and will enter their bye week with a 3-3 record.
Robin Baghdady, the 2018-19 Canada West Rookie of the Year, and Mason Metcalf led the way for the visitors, with each recording ten kills in the win for the Bobcats, who as a team finished the match with a superb.403 hitting percentage. Baghdady also had a team-high four service aces in the win, while Seth Friesen had three of his own, to go along with his seven kills.
On the Huskies side, Dylan Mortenson and
Luke Wandzura each tallied eight kills and two service aces, while
Connor Murray chipped in five kills of his own, and also recorded four service aces. C.J. Gavlas recorded 18 assists for the home side, while
Jeff Erickson led the team with six digs.
It wasn't until the late-going of the first frame that the Bobcats took control.
Daven Pascal's kill had the Huskies made the score 19-18 in favour of the visitors in a back-and-forth set. However, following Pascal's kill against his former club, the Bobcats rallied off three-consecutive points to extend their lead to four. After fighting off one set point, Metcalf put the first frame away with a kill to make the score 25-20 in favour of the visitors.
Brandon carried over their opening set win momentum into the second frame, hopping out to a quick 9-3 lead, as Saskatchewan dug themselves into an early hole. However, the Huskies were able to work themselves back into the match, with large part due to a 7-2 run to trim the deficit to two, making the score 13-11 in favour of the Bobcats. But that was as close as Saskatchewan would come, as the defending conference champions regained their composure and were able to weather the storm. With Brandon leading 24-19, Friesen's kill put the icing on the cake in the second frame and gave the visitors the two-set lead.
The Huskies were determined to extend the match beyond three sets, but the Bobcats proved to be too much. After taking a 5-4 lead, responding after an early Saskatchewan advantage, the visitors wouldn't look back as they didn't trail again in the remainder of the set. The Huskies trimmed the deficit to two, as back-to-back Wandzura kills made the score 21-19 for the Bobcats, but after a Brandon timeout, they responded by winning four of the next five points, with Metcalf's kill sealing the sweep for the visitors.
Following their four-game homestand, the Huskies will enjoy a bye next weekend before getting back in action in Kelowna on Nov. 15 and 16 against the UBC Okanagan Heat. Meanwhile, the Bobcats will take the court in Brandon on Thursday night in the first game of a home-and-home against the Winnipeg Wesmen, before travelling to Winnipeg for a Saturday night clash.
All of that action can be watched live on Canada West TV presented by Co-op.
