SASKATOON — The UBCO Heat women’s volleyball team dropped the first set but didn’t look back, going onto defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-19) at the Physical Activity Complex.
After falling in their playoff opener on Friday night, the Heat rebounded in style with the resilient victory.
The win was UBCO’s first playoff victory since Feb. 24, 2018.
“It was awesome. A lot of us have never been to the playoffs. This is our first opportunity and we had a lot of fun. We used the crowds tonight, which was awesome and we came out with a win,” said Brills.
“I thought both teams played pretty well. They had a couple of players step up and play very well tonight and we just didn’t quite do a good enough job executing against two of their outside hitters,” said Huskies head coach Mark Dodds.
Jade Bussard and Sydney Grills each had big nights on the outside, recording 23 kills and 15 kills apiece en route to the win.
Emily Koshinsky led the Huskies with 16 kills on the night, while Jessica Andjelic had a game-high 14 digs.
While the Huskies didn’t get the win, Dodds relished the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd of 1,106 at the PAC.
“It was electric. That was unbelievable. The first point of the game, the place kind of exploded — I wasn’t necessarily expecting that,” said Dodds. “The crowd was awesome all night. It was unbelievable. We have got to say a big thank you to the Huskies fans.”
In the opening set, Saskatchewan faced set point following a Grills kill that made it 24-23 in favour of UBCO, but the home side responded. The Huskies received a kill from Koshinsky and a massive block by Julia Howell Bourner to set up a set point of their own and from there it was Koshinsky who brought the home crow to their feet with her third kill of the frame to make it 26-24 Saskatchewan.
But from then on it was all Heat. They responded in a back-and-forth set of their own. After the set was square 22-22, Jade Bussard, Kendall Stephan and Grills rallied off three straight kills to square the match up at one set apiece.
Six kills from Bussard in the third set helped the Heat grab the lead, meaning the Huskies needed the fourth set to stay alive, but after it was all square at 19 apiece, the Heat rallied off six consecutive points, with a match point delivered off of a Bussard ace.
UBCO will look to punch their ticket to the next round of postseason volleyball tomorrow night, when they take on the Manitoba Bisons. First serve is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. CST.
“It’s going to be like a lot more hard work, but I think if we come out and play like we did today, we’re going to do great,” said Brills.
Meanwhile, the Huskies will fight to keep their season alive tomorrow night, with first serve scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CST against the Mount Royal Cougars.
We decided in the team room, we’re not done yet,” said Dodds. “We’ve got to prepare to play our best match of the year tomorrow — if we can come home and play our best match of the year, then we’re giving ourselves a chance.”
“We have got to be disappointed a little bit for sure, because losing is never fun, but we’re flipping the switch here pretty quick to prepare for tomorrow.”
All the action can be seen on CanadaWest.TV presented by Co-op.