EDMONTON, Alta. – Alberta’s Isaac Heslinga finished with a game-high 19 kills, and the Golden Bears hit .320 as a team en route to a 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19) victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday night at the Saville Centre.
The Alberta win means the No. 1 U SPORTS-ranked Golden Bears maintain their undefeated start to the year at 8-0, while the visiting No. 8 Huskies have the weekend series swept from them and sit at 3-3.
Heslinga was far from the only Bear to stand out in this one, as Jacob Sargeant finished with 13 kills and rookie Owen Harris impressed with five of his own and a .667 hitting percentage.
Saskatchewan was not bereft of good performances either, as Mathieu Methot was phenomenal with a team-high 11 kills and an astounding .786 attacking percentage. Setter Noah Opseth did his best to thwart a strong Alberta net presence, distributing the ball well and finishing with a game-high 39 assists.
The game largely came down to efficiency, as Saskatchewan recorded 21 attacking errors to Alberta’s 14, and the Bears won the net battle with 12.5 blocks to the Huskies eight.
Both teams were incredibly efficient on the attack to start, with only seven cumulative attacking errors recorded in the set. They traded runs leading to a tight 22-21 Alberta advantage, from which Enis Beserevic recorded a kill and a block to lead the Bears to a 25-23 win. Mathieu Methot was stellar for the visitors, hitting a perfect 1.000 and finishing with a set-high six kills while Heslinga paced the hosts with four of his own.
The Huskies turned it on in the second set, specifically limiting the Bears at the net by recording three total blocks and limiting the dangerous Alberta attack that ranks third in the conference in kills-per-set. They held the Bears to a .208 attacking mark, while hitting .333 themselves en route to a 25-18 set win. Methot stayed perfect while finishing with a team-high three kills, while Heslinga was the only real bright spot for the hosts with a set-high six kills.
Saskatchewan maintained their momentum in the third set, jumping to a 13-10 lead on the strength of some phenomenal defence. However, Heslinga and the Bears would power on a 10-3 run themselves to reclaim the set, with the reigning CW Player of the Year recording six of his six total kills in the frame. Despite some late Huskies resistance the Bears would hold on for a 25-19 set win.
The fourth set was a tight affair, with no team gaining an advantage larger than a couple of points. The Huskies were paced by a balanced attack and a strong block line, while for Alberta it was the Jacob Sargeant show. The third-year Bear recorded seven of his 13 kills in the frame, single-handedly keeping some Alberta runs alive, and also added a block and an ace to help the Bears on the way to a 25-19 set and match win.
Both teams are at home next weekend, with Alberta hosting their rivals, the Calgary Dinos, and Saskatchewan welcoming the Thompson Rivers WolfPack to Saskatoon.