EDMONTON, SK—The Saskatchewan Huskies struggled in their first game on the road this season, dropping straight sets to the MacEwan Griffins (23-25, 30-32, 20-25).
The first set saw the Huskies pop out to an early 6-4 lead before the Griffins powered through with six straight points to take the 10-6 lead. Saskatchewan didn’t let up however, with some impressive kills from fourth year Julia Howell Bourner to advance the set, bringing the Huskies within one at 20-21 Griffins. MacEwan took a time out to try and stifle the Huskies momentum. The strategy worked, leading the Griffins to a 25-20 set win.
All three sets between the two teams were ultra-tight. There was a marathon second set, with momentum swings all over the place that had both teams pushing each other blow for blow. In that marathon set, MacEwan held a tight 10-9 lead, but the Huskies started to rally and gained momentum, but the Griffins did a great job of not letting that set get away from them. They kept reeling them in and were able to eventually tie it at 22-22.
Both teams continued to push each other back and forth as the score was tied 15 different times in the set. It finally ended with MacEwan’s Sarah McGee showing deft touch on a tip at the net to secure the set win.
MacEwan rode that momentum of that big second set win and put Saskatchewan away in that third set. With the set tied at 11-11, the Griffins started to pull forward, thanks to the talents of Mariah Bereziuk. Bereziuk had two of her five aces in the game in the third set, and coming up clutch with several timely kills for the Griffins. The Huskies kept pushing all the way, never letting up, but the Griffins were determined not to let up, winning the third set 25-20.
KEY PERFORMANCES
Mariah Bereziuk had a great performance for the Griffins with 15 kills, nine digs and five aces. MacEwan had a well-balanced attack, with Alyshia Bryks chipping in with 10 kills and Kara Frith adding eight. Setter Payton Shimoda recorded 39 assists in the win for MacEwan.
Second year Keely Anderson led the Huskies in kills with 10 on the night, adding three digs and three assisted blocks. Adding to the Saskatchewan tally, Rosetta Cyr had an impressive game, with nine kills, eight digs, and two assisted blocks. Setter Sophia Magus had 24 assists in the loss for the Huskies.
NEXT UP
Game two of the series will be on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM in David Atkinson Gym. Game can be streamed live at CanadaWest.TV.