CALGARY – For the first time since the 2001-02 season the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's volleyball team punched their ticket to the Canada West postseason despite falling 4-1 (25-11, 25-23, 20-25, 29-27) to the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary on Friday.
With both the Calgary Dinos and UBC Okanagan Heat also dropping their games, the Huskies' 12 wins on the season will be enough to take them back to playoff action. While the team qualified for the U SPORTS National Championship as the host in both 2003-04 and 2004-05 this season will mark their return to conference postseason play for the first time in 18 seasons.
For Mount Royal, Tasha Holness led with 16.5 points and 15 kills. For Saskatchewan,
Olivia Mattern led with 16 points and 13 kills.
The Cougars began the match with an early lead of just a few points. Cassidy Kitchen landed several kills to bring the team further ahead. In addition, a series of service aces helped them hold onto the lead. Huskies'
Brooke Listwin broke their streak with a couple kills of her own, but the Cougars took the set in the end.
Saskatchewan opened the scoring for the second with two quick kills from Mattern. However the hosts soon found their pace once more to match the score then pull into the lead after Dholi Thokbuom landed several kills. The Huskies'
Emily Koshinsky brought the score to a tie at 23, but Mount Royal's Holness and Quinn Pelland landed two quick kills to win the set.
The Huskies once more took a slight lead in the beginning of the third. The Cougars were struggling to block their plays, leading to a series of kills landing in their territory. Koshinsky was finding a healthy amount of kills, her team's efforts paying off and earning them the third set.
Saskatchewan held a strong lead early in the fourth with Koshinsky earning a series of kills off the bat. The Cougars broke their streak as Kitchen landed some of her own, narrowing the gap to two. The Huskies held a consistent two-point lead through most of the set until the Cougars caught up at 22. It then became a battle of the ages. Finally, as the score snuck past 27 each, Mount Royal's Chantel Park landed two quick kills to win the match.
The teams will face off once more for the weekend on Saturday, February 1st, on Kenyon Court.
