KAMLOOPS, BC – Second set momentum proved crucial for the the Saskatchewan Huskies took the 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-20, 25-17) win over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
The ‘Pack came out flying to start the match, taking the first set comfortably but after the Huskies won a close second set; they were able to ride that momentum to take the third and fourth set.
Dylan Mortensen made his presence known at the net for the Huskies and had a big night. He finished the game with 17 kills, three blocks and an ace while hitting .556 per cent. Levi Olson added in 10 kills and 2 aces to help the Huskies to victory.
“Credit to Sask, they made some veteran moves from a veteran team, and we were slow to respond,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly.
The first set started out with teams trading points back and forth. Despite Mortensen having six kills in the set, it would be TRU’s Corbin Ockerman who would blow the set open for the WolfPack when he went on a serving run which included three aces to push the ‘Pack to a 15-9 lead. From there the WolfPack cruised to win the set 25-19.
The second set was another tight affair with both teams staying within a couple points of each other all the way to the end. While the WolfPack would take a 24-23 lead and earn a chance to win the set, the Huskies didn’t go away without a fight and would prevail to win the set 26-24 thanks in large part to a pair of kills from Mortensen.
With momentum on their side, the Huskies would go on to win the third and fourth set receiving contributions from their entire lineup.
The third set was decided during a 5-1 Huskie run that turned a 19-17 lead into a 24-18 advantage during which the ‘Pack made a trio of attack errors.
In the fourth and final frame the Huskies jumped out to a 17-9 advantage and never looked back en route to the victory.
The Huskies (6-3) and the WolfPack (4-5) will be back in action Saturday afternoon in Kamloops. Game time is at 6:45 PM CST and can be found live on CanadaWest.TV.