#2 Bears roll past #4 Huskies in Saskatoon

SASKATOON, SK – The Saskatchewan Huskies returned to the court Friday evening for a U Sports top 5 match up, hosting the Alberta Golden Bears at the Physical Activity Complex for their first game of 2024, and officially kicking off the second half of the season. The two teams proved to be an exciting match up, but the Huskies couldn’t find their stride and ultimately fell to the Golden Bears in three straight sets (25-20, 25-18, 25-18).
 
THE HIGHLIGHTS

• Both teams came out ready to compete in what would prove to be an exciting first set. The two teams went back in forth to 20 before the Golden Bears took control and finished off the set with a 25-20 win over Saskatchewan.
• The Golden Bears continued to keep the energy high heading into the second set, taking an early lead over the Huskies with heavy swings. Saskatchewan continued to play a game of catch-up with Alberta, keeping the score within reason, but the Golden Bears finished off the set 25-18.
• Though the Huskies were able to rack-up more kills than the Golden Bears in set three, the Golden Bears were able to capitalize on the Huskies mistakes and dominate the set, once again, a final score of 25-18 for Alberta.

THE STATS

• Saskatchewan’s Emmett Graham lead the game in kills with 12 total and a 0.208 kill percentage. Alberta’s Isaac Heslinga followed close behind with 11 kills on the night, swinging 0.435 percent.
• The Golden Bears out-swung the Huskies in successful attacks in two of three sets, with 15-7 kills in set one and 10-9 kills in set two. The Huskies out-swung the Golden Bears in the third with 11-9 kills.
• The Golden Bears had a total of 10 team blocks and the Huskies with 0.
• Service errors added up for both teams, the Huskies with a team total of 13 and the Golden Bears with 16.

THE STANDINGS
These two teams are the top teams in Canada west, heading into the match up with an even record of 9-3. The Huskies currently are ranked 4th in U Sports with the Golden Bears in the 2nd place seat. After tonight’s game the Golden Bears improve their record to 10-3 and the Huskies’ record will shift to 9-4.
 
NEXT UP
The two teams will be returning to the Physical Activity Complex for a rematch Saturday afternoon at 4:30 PM, following the women’s game. The Huskies look to even the series with a win tomorrow to force a split with the Golden Bears. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com and for fans unable to attend, they can catch the action live on CanadaWest.TV.