SASKATOON, SK – The Saskatchewan Huskies had home court advantage on Friday night, welcoming the visiting Thompson Rivers WolfPack to the Physical Activity Complex. An incredible game awaited fans in Saskatoon as the game headed to a fifth set, with the WolfPack grabbing a narrow 15-13 win in the fifth to take the 3-2 match win.
The Huskies had started the season with a 4-0 record and had earned top spot in Canada West as the only undefeated team in the conference. They swept both the Brandon Bobcats and MacEwan Griffins to start their season. With a 2-2 start to their year, the WolfPack sat in the middle of the pack after splitting both of their series against the Alberta Golden Bears and the Calgary Dinos.
The WolfPack’s first set was dominated by service errors as they put up five errors in the first half of the set. Their attack game was on point however, with Matthew Hamilton and Sam Flowerday putting leading the way in kills to put the WolfPack up 15-11, pushing Saskatchewan to take a timeout.
A wicked spin serve from Saskatchewan’s Jackson Morrow would notch the first service ace of the game to bring the Huskies within three at 13-16. The teams would go back and forth with service errors before another Saskatchewan timeout at 16-20 Huskies. Lucas Musschoot would throw up a huge block at 18-22 Huskies, putting some fire in the Dogs but a few Saskatchewan errors would give the WolfPack the 25-22 set win.
Musschoot was back on the block with a killer stop early in the set as the teams traded points to tie the set at 8-8. TRU would give the Huskies a free ball and Isaiah Mamer would take advantage, slamming it down for a 12-8 lead and a TRU timeout.
The Huskies would continue to put the pressure on the WolfPack, with Emmett Graham making his mark with some spectacular kills, keeping the Huskies in the lead at 18-15. Some costly errors from Saskatchewan decreased the lead 18-17, pushing the Huskies to take a timeout.
An incredible kill from TRU’s Corbin Ockerman was answered by Graham and another service error from TRU gave the Huskies a 22-19 lead, which would see Saskatchewan sub in Joshua Thorson for Emmett Graham. TRU would take their second timeout of the set after an attack error to try and shift momentum their way. The momentum would stay with Saskatchewan, taking a 25-21 second set win.
The third set played out much the same way as the second set, with Saskatchewan jumping out to an early 16-11 lead. Hamilton and Flowerday would continue to thrive for the WolfPack, with impressive kills. TRU would take a timeout at 21-16 Huskies, and the team rallied back to keep things competitive. Huskies would win the set 25-21 and would lead sets 2-1.
TRU pushed back hard in the fourth set and after back and forth rallies, the game was tied 16-16. The game shifted in favour of the WolfPack after that, with four kills from Flowerday and additional kills from Hamilton and Ryan Ibbetson to win the set 25-21 and push the game to a fifth set. The Huskies struggled in the fourth set, with costly errors providing opportunities for the WolfPack’s offence.
Saskatchewan jumped out to an early 11-6 lead in the fifth and final set, pushing TRU to take a timeout. TRU took seven of the next nine points to tie the set 13-13. An attack error from Saskatchewan and a kill from Gavin Magerison would put the set to rest and the TRU WolfPack would take the 3-2 match win.
NEXT UP
The rematch between the Huskies and the WolfPack gets underway on Saturday, November 4 at the Physical Activity Complex at 3:00 PM. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com and fans can check out the live stream on CanadaWest.TV.