WVB: Third Set Comeback not Enough to Beat Wesmen

SASKATOON, SK – After an exciting five-set game Friday evening, the Saskatchewan Huskies and the Winnipeg Wesmen returned to Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the Physical Activity complex for a Saturday afternoon rematch. With the Wesmen taking game one, the Huskies were in search of a win to split the weekend series, but the Wesmen would use their momentum from Friday night’s win to put themselves over the Huskies in four sets.
 
THE HIGHLIGHTS

• Winnipeg established their lead from start, slowly widening the gap between themselves and the Huskies through the first set. Errors added up for the Huskies and the Wesmen claimed the first set 25-18 off a swinging error from the Huskies.
• Set two looked very similar with the Wesmen finding the lead and once again stretching the gap in score. They rallied to a 25-16 set win with a kill from Selva Planincic to close things out. 
• The Huskies came into the third set with high energy, finding themselves in the lead early on. Winnipeg battled back to tie the set at 14 and take over the lead, but the Huskies were persistent, refusing to go down in three sets. The Wesmen had the 23-21 lead, but the Huskies put up four straight points to take the set 25-23.
• After the Huskies edged out a win in the third, the Wesmen quickly turned things around, dominating the fourth set with a 0.560 team swing percentage. Winnipeg proved to be consistent, taking advantage of Saskatchewan’s many errors to win the fourth 25-9.  

THE STATS

• Saskatchewan’s Keely Anderson led the match in kills with 16. Anderson also put up 12 digs on the night. 
• Selva Planincic held the lead for the Wesmen in kills with 13, and teammates Brooke Duncalfe and Jaya Dzikowicz were closely behind with 12 and 11 kills each.
• Rosetta Cyr (SSK) led the game in service aces with three.
• Winnipeg’s Selva Planincic led the stats in digs as well, putting up 17 balls off the Huskies.

THE STANDINGS 
The loss moves the Huskies to a 5-7 record, while the Wesmen improve to 5–7. The Huskies currently sit in seventh place in the Canada West standings, with Winnipeg close behind in tenth.
 
NEXT UP
The weekend series against the Wesmen would be the final game for the Huskies in 2023. The Huskies will return to the PAC in the new year, welcoming the U SPORT seventh ranked Alberta Pandas to the Physical Activity Complex on January 5th and 6th. Tickets are available at HuskieTickets.com.