SASKATOON, SK – The Saskatchewan Huskies were at the PAC on Saturday afternoon for game two of their series against the Calgary Dinos. Saskatchewan was looking to sweep the weekend series after a three set win over the Dinos on Friday night. The Huskies would be victorious, winning in three straight sets (25-18, 27-25, 25-23).
The Huskies came out strong to start the first set, storming to a 13-7 lead before a Calgary timeout. Saskatchewan continued to dominate the set, growing the lead to 20-12 before a second Dinos timeout. Calgary would put up a fight to get within five at 23-18, but back-to-back kills from Levi Olson and Dylan Mortensen would give the Huskies the 28-18 win.
Calgary came out looking inspired to start the second set going up 7-3 before the Huskies would find a groove to tie things up at 11-11. Back-to-back it went all the way to 24-24 but it was Quinn Buchanan with a kill before a Jake Rapin ace to give the Huskies the set win at 27-25.
The third saw the Huskies go up 4-1 early and it looked like they might run away with the set but to the Dinos credit, they would not break coming back to tie it at six. The Huskies would establish a 17-12 lead, but a four-point run just a few moments later would tie it up at 18. Calgary was pushing to avoid the six-set weekend sweep. All tied up through 23, it was the big man Jack McGeough and Dylan Mortensen with straight kills to take this one 25-23 and the weekend series 2-0.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Mortensen was dominate once again racking up 17 kills and 18 points. Olson and Isaiah Mamer each had two aces for the Huskies. Buchanan and Olson also chipped in with three blocks a piece. For the Dinos, Louis Kunstmann had 10 kills while Lincoln Baines and Liam Kuppe had three blocks a piece. Saskatchewan hit to a .341 attack percentage on the night while holding Calgary to .221.
Dylan Mortensen continued his chase for the Canada West record in kills and points. After 35 kills this weekend Mortensen, now sits just 32 kills shy of breaking the Canada West record. In the points chase, Mortensen now just sits 45.5 points back of tying the all-time record.
GRADUATING PLAYERS
Before the game, the Huskies took time to celebrate their graduating players.
Mark Armstrong, the setter out of Creston, BC has played three years with Huskies and over that time has recorded 284 assists.
Quinn Buchana, the 6’4″ middle out of Lethbridge, AB, has notched 203 kills in two years with the Huskies and has made a big impact in the middle, recording 107 blocks.
Dylan Mortensen, the Swift Current, SK product, has recorded 1,434 regular season kills for the Huskies and the “Morty Watch” will continue as he looks to hunt down the Canada West kills record in the remaining two games of the regular season.
Levi Olson, the outside hitter out of Centennial Collegiate here in Saskatoon, has been on a mission in his fifth year, racking up 210 kills and 40 aces , and is one of the most electrifying players in the country.
Jake Rapin, fifth-year setter from Prince Albert, SK, has notched 508 assists so far this season and will play a huge role in what the Huskies hope is a deep playoff run.
NEXT UP
The Huskies have two games remaining in the regular season and will head to Winnipeg to take on the Wesmen on February 17 & 18. With a home playoff date locked up, the Huskies will look to see if they can climb the standings in the final weekend. Games can be streamed live on CanadaWest.TV.