KELOWNA, BC – Back on the court after a bye week, the Saskatchewan Huskies were in Kelowna, BC to tangle with the UBC Okanagan Heat in Canada West regular season action.
With over 700 elementary school children in attendance for the annual UBC Okanagan School Day event, the crowd for the afternoon game was excited and energetic but they were unable to give the home team the boost they needed as the Huskies won in straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-18).
THE HIGHLIGHTS
UBC Okanagan’s Olivia Tymkiw would get the Heat off to a quick start in the match with an early serving run, helping the Heat take a 5-0 lead. However, an early Huskie timeout swapped the momentum, and the Huskies quickly climbed their way back into the opening set.
Natalie Funk would have an impressive set for the Heat, with four kills and two blocks but despite that strong performance, the Huskies took advantage of a flurry of attack errors from UBC to cruise to a 25-19 win.
Korey Jenkins locked down a pair of kills to set the tone for the Heat in the second set. Saskatchewan’s Keely Anderson responded with two kills of her own. Holding pace, the Heat held the lead until another strategic timeout from Saskatchewan that would once again break UBC Okanagan’s momentum, moving the Huskies to a 25-23 victory.
Despite the Heat’s efforts, exchanging rally victories would not be enough as the Huskies secured a crucial seven-point serving streak from Olivia Mattern to conclude the match with a 25-18 win.
THE STATS
UBC Okanagan’s Natalie Funk dominated at the net, nailing down four blocks five kills with a .545 attack percentage, and a total of eight points for the Heat.
Keely Anderson ran the Huskies offence, leading in kills with a game high 13, adding an assist and four digs for the Dogs.
Setter Sophia Magus had 25 assists and nine digs for the Huskies, with Abigail Dueck putting up 23 assists and five digs for the Heat.
The Huskies were impressive from the service line, with five aces compared to the Heat’s two.
THE STANDINGS
Following the Friday afternoon win, the Saskatchewan Huskies move to a 5-2 record and are tied for fourth in Canada West. The loss drops the Heat to a 3-4 record and eight spot in the Canada West standings.
THE NEXT ONE
The Huskies are back on the court on Saturday at 5:00 PM for game two of the weekend series against the UBC Okanagan Heat. Fans can watch the game live on CanadaWest.TV.