SASKATOON, SK – The Saskatchewan Huskies would host the UBC Thunderbirds in a Canada West top-five matchup in what would be their last regular season series on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the Physical Activity Complex on Friday night. The game would be a thrilling five-set match, with the Huskies coming out on top to take game one of the weekend series.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
The two teams would go almost point-for-point in set one, neither team reaching no higher than a two-point lead right from start to finish. The Huskies would eventually come out on top, winning the set 26-24 on a service ace by fourth-year Jefferson Morrow.
In the first half of set two, the two teams would continue to play a tight game, once again only allowing up to a two-point lead. Two Huskie kills from Isaiah Mamer and Emmett Graham, followed by an attacking error by the Thunderbirds, would put the Huskies up by three, the highest lead of the match so far.
The Huskies would take advantage of the lead and use the momentum to push. UBC would call a timeout following a service ace by Sask’s Jack McGeough, making it 16-11 in favour of the Huskies, to regroup.
Gavin Moes would earn the Thunderbirds the point following the timeout, but the Huskies would continue to close out the set, 25-21.
The Thunderbirds would take the lead off-the-hop in set three, having the Huskies take a turn chasing. The Huskies would regain the lead, 10-9, but only briefly before the Thunderbirds would regain possession following back-to-back kills from Conaire Taub.
The two teams would once again go almost point-for-point for the duration of the remainder of the set, the Thunderbirds would dig deep, refusing to go down in three.
UBC would find themselves at match point from a kill by Kieran Robinson-Dunn. Isaiah Mamer would fight back, putting the Huskies at 22, but Gavin Moes would close out the lead with double kills from Gavin Moes (25-22), forcing a fourth set.
A tight fourth set had emotions running high, the Huskies fighting hard to finish the game and the Thunderbirds relentlessly pushing back to take the game to five. Ultimately, the Thunderbirds would get their way, taking the game to an over-time set after defeating the Huskies 27-25 in the fourth.
In set five, the Huskies would win the race to eight with two kills from Jefferson Morrow following UBC calling a timeout.
Sask would continue to dominate the set and, as a result, secure the victory after defeating the Thunderbirds 15-6 in the final set.
THE STATS
The Huskies would outscore the Thunderbirds 78-75.
Saskatchewan’s Emmett Graham would lead the match and the Huskies in kills with 21. Isaiah Mamer would follow close behind with 18.
Reeve Gingera would lead UBC in kills with 16, and Gavin Moes right behind with 15.
The Huskies would have a team total of 7 service aces. The Thunderbirds would have 5 led by Reeve Gingera with three. Service errors would add up quickly for both teams, the Huskies missing 15 and the Thunderbirds missing 18.
Saskatchewan would have 6 successful team blocks, and the Thunderbirds would have 5.
THE STANDINGS
The Huskies and Thunderbirds are currently tied for third in the Canada West standings with 43 points each. The Huskies hold a record of 15-6 after tonight’s victory, the loss shifting the Thunderbirds to 14-7.
THE NEXT ONE
The two high-ranked teams will return to Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the Physical Activity Complex to battle it out at 4:30 PM on Saturday for a late afternoon match-up to conclude the weekend series. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com, and fans unable to attend can catch the action live on CanadaWest.TV.
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