CALGARY – A big comeback effort from the University of Saskatchewan Huskies came up just short on Saturday night, as they fell 3-2 (25-23, 25-17, 23-25, 23-25,15-9) to the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary.
 
An early Cougars lead was thwarted by the Huskies as they went from 2-0 to 2-2. With a final block by Keal Prince, Mount Royal won the night 3-2 in the fifth, earning a weekend split.
 
For Mount Royal, Chris Byam earned a career high 29.5 points with 26 kills for the night.
 
Cole Burkart led the way for Saskatchewan, recording 22 points, including 19 kills. Daulton Sinoski added a further 10 kills while Daven Pascal racked up six blocks for the visitors.
 
After the Huskies fought back from the two-set hole, Mount Royal responded in the fifth, hitting an efficient .375 per cent as a team en route to the victory.
 
The result muddies the playoff picture in the Canada West conference. Saskatchewan, sitting at 9-9 remains tied with Calgary for sixth place. However, Mount Royal looms large right those teams with a mark of 8-12.
 
The Huskies will now return to Saskatoon for their final home games of the regular season when they take on the 16-4 Alberta Golden Bears Feb. 7-8.