EDMONTON, AB — After an undefeated home opener weekend, the Saskatchewan Huskies hit the road for the first time this season, heading to Edmonton to take on the MacEwan Griffins. Strong performances from Isaiah Mamer and Lucas Musschoot led Saskatchewan to a win in straight sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-20) on Friday night.
MacEwan and the Huskies had an entertaining opening set that saw four different lead changes, and the score was tied 16 times with both teams trying to set the tone early in the match. With the score tied at 18-18, the Huskies hit their stride with precision kills from Jefferson Morrow and Mamer to win the first set 25-22.
While the Griffins put forward an impressive effort in the first set loss, they tried desperately to try and grab momentum and run with it in the second and third sets. The Huskies did not let up controlling most of the play throughout the game.
After a strong opening set, which saw the Huskies capitalize on MacEwan’s mistakes, they focused on keeping the Griffins from going on big scoring runs. They led the second set from start to finish, with Musshoot serving up two aces late in the set, helping elevate the team to a 25-20 win.
Once the Huskies took a 6-5 lead in the third set, they didn’t give it back. Mamer had some impressive kills in the third, showing off the skills he developed with Team Canada over the summer. Tied up at 18-18, Saskatchewan pushed hard from all angles, coming out hard offensively and forcing errors from the Griffins. The third set ended 25-20 in favour of the Huskies.
“We put a good effort forward, but we need to capitalize on the little things. We made some errors we can’t make in certain situations and Saskatchewan played good. They put us in trouble quite a few times,” said Griffins libero Daniel Hebert after the game.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Mitchel Gorman led MacEwan with 11 kills and six digs, while Daylan Andison recorded eight kills and four digs in the loss as MacEwan fell to 0-3 this season.
Isaiah Mamer led Saskatchewan with 11 kills, while Emmett Graham chipped in with 10 kills and five digs as the Huskies improved to 3-0. Musshoot served up two aces, eight kills and three digs in the victory. Setter Noah Opseth had 34 assists and six digs for the Dogs.
NEXT UP
The Huskies will take on the Griffins in a rematch on Saturday afternoon at David Atknson Gym in Edmonton, AB at 4:30 PM. Cheer on the Huskies by tuning into the live stream on CanadaWest.TV.
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