Huskies Come Out on Top Against Wolfpack in Five Sets

SASKATOON, Sask. – Veteran leaders Emmett Graham and Jefferson Morrow recorded fifteen kills each, helping lead Saskatchewan to a gritty, five-set victory (26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 22-25, 15-10) over the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack at Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court on Friday night (Nov. 29). 

With the win, Saskatchewan improves to 5-4 on the season and positions the Huskies in sixth in the Canada West standings. The five-set affair also marked the Huskies’ third marathon-match in a row after going the distance twice and eventually splitting their two-game series last weekend against Mantioba. 

For Thompson Rivers, the Wolfpack now find themselves in tenth after the loss drops their record to 2-7. 

Morrow’s fifteen kills and .379 hitting percentage are both season-highs for the Australian product, as he continues to be a do-it-all Swiss-army knife for the Huskies through the first nine games of the 2024-25 campaign. 

After a two game absence due to injury, Graham’s fifteen kills and .219 hitting percentage were on the lower end of what the 6-foot-5 southpaw hitter is accustomed to, however Graham contributed well defensively by racking up ten digs, reaching the double digit mark in that category for the second time this season. 

Despite out-performing the Wolfpack in kills 55-50, the Huskies were not as efficient as their canine counterpart, as TRU turned in a hitting percentage of .296 to only .218 for Saskatchewan. The Wolfpack were led primarily by standout hitter Sam Flowerday, who led all players in kills on the evening with twenty-two. 

From the service-line, both teams would have liked to see a better performance, as Saskatchewan and TRU combined for fifty service errors with twenty-seven coming from the Wolfpack and twenty-three contributed by the Dogs. Despite a less than stellar performance for both sides, the Huskies did manage to turn in eight service aces thanks largely to Joshua Thorson, who led all players with four. 

Thorson honed-in what may have been his best performance of the season after coach Sean Mackay subbed in the fifth-year Law student midway through the third set. In addition to four aces, Thorson contributed to the stat sheet with eight kills, three digs and three total blocks. 

In what was a back and forth affair that saw both sides struggle to maintain momentum and sustain any long scoring runs thanks to the aforementioned service errors, the match entered the final frame with both sides determined not to let their efforts go to waste. The Huskies came out strong in the fifth, gaining an early 8-4 lead and fueled by three of Morrow’s fifteen kills. Meanwhile, Thorson delivered two back to back aces, putting the Huskies up 13-7. After an attack error from TRU moved the game to match-point for Saskatchewan, Morrow delivered his fourth kill of the frame and sealed the deal with a 15-10 victory in the fifth set to claim the match for the Dogs. 

In their final game before the Christmas break, the Huskies square-off once again against the Wolfpack tomorrow evening (Saturday Nov. 30) at 4:30pm. Get your tickets at huskietickets.com or catch the action live at CanadaWest.tv.

Prior to the game, players, coaches, and fans took a fifteen-second moment of silence to honour Owyn McInnis, a member of the Wolfpack men’s volleyball team who tragically lost his life. Owyn’s legacy lives on through the Owyn McInnis Memorial Men’s Volleyball Athletic Award. This scholarship will exist forever and be presented annually to a deserving member of the WolfPack men’s volleyball team. Proceeds from a raffle at tonight’s game will go towards supporting the scholarship and honoring Owyn.