CALGARY – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies men's volleyball team's most successful season since 2015-16 came to an end with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-21 and 25-22) loss to the Mount Royal Cougars in a Canada West quarter-final series in Calgary, AB on Feb. 23.
In his final game as a Huskie, fifth-year Colin Fraser led his team in attack with a total of 15 kills. The Huskies racked up seven team blocks and a total serve percentage of 0.778 in the match. Dylan Mortensen added 13 kills in the loss.
The Cougars lead attacker was Tyler Schmidt with a total of 25 kills. The Cougars had a total of seven team blocks and an overall serve percentage of 0.844.
With one match under their belts, the Cougars brought their energy back to the court on the second night of the best-of-three series. The Cougars showed a strong start, quickly gaining a lead over the Huskies and forcing them to call a timeout at 12-6.
Schmidt began racking up kills quickly leading his team into the technical timeout with a lead of 16-9. The Huskies took back control of the serve following the technical timeout, which gave them the opportunity to fight their way back into the game. When the Cougars felt their lead slipping away at 20-16 they used their first timeout. Despite a comeback from the Huskies, the Cougars sealed the deal when the Huskies were called on the net. The final score of the first set was 25-21.
After a momentum change halfway through the first set, the Huskies play significantly changed entering the second. The set started as a close match with the teams going point-for-point and neither able to pull away with the lead. The Cougars turned to focus on their defence, starting to get hands-on nearly every attack at the net they were the first to pull away leading 14-11.
The Huskies yet again started to shine as the set went on. The Cougars were unable to regroup and the Huskies took the set 25-22 with a block from Dylan Mortensen.
The teams once again found themselves going point-for-point in a very close third set. For the third time in a row, Schmidt led his team to the technical timeout with a kill as they lead 16-13. The Cougars used their momentum to continue growing their lead. Quickly pulling themselves back into the game the Huskies were determined to not make it easy on the Cougars. The Cougars called a timeout up 22-20 looking to end the set. After the timeout the Cougars quickly ended the set 25-21 giving them a one set advantage going into the fourth.
For the first time in the match, the Huskies took the first lead. Though only up a few points 6-3, the Huskies were the first with an early advantage. With a change in intensity, the Cougars were able to swing the set their way and take the lead 12-9. The Cougars continued their trend of being the first to 16, however, they only led by one at the technical timeout. Both teams kept the pressure on one another, both hungry for a win. With one last attempt to stay in the match, the Huskies used a timeout down 21-23. The Cougars couldn't be stopped and won the set 25-22 taking home the match in four sets.
