Efficient Bisons men beat Huskies in four sets

In what was their first game on home court since Feb. 8, 2020, Saskatchewan was unable to keep pace with visiting Manitoba.

Huskies outside hitter Dylan Mortensen led both teams with a game-high 17 kills, while Manitoba’s Ben Carleton led the Bisons with 15 kills.

Manitoba moved to 2-1 with the win, while Saskatchewan falls to 0-3, after two five-set defeats on the road last weekend to the nationally ranked Brandon Bobcats.

After dropping the opening set, the Huskies bounced back in the second, taking the set off a huge Levi Olson kill, hitting .300 in the second set.

The game was relatively back-and-forth until the Bisons found their footing in the third set, and Manitoba ultimately put the game to rest with a Ben Carleton kill in the fourth set.

The story of the match likely was efficiency, evidenced by the two programs hitting percentages in the fourth-and-final set, as the Huskies offense sputtered in the last set hitting .167 compared to Manitoba who hit a game-high .455. Ultimately, the Huskies struggled to garner momentum on the night hitting a mere .196 compared to the Bisons .299. Darian Koskie of the Bisons led all players hitting .700.

Fouth-year setter Jake Rapin led the Huskies with 32 assists on the night. On the opposite side of the net, Manitoba’s Jack Mandryk tallied 35 assists.