SASKATOON – After failing to put the match away despite holding a lead last night, the Winnipeg Wesmen wouldn't make the same mistake on Saturday as they defeated the host Saskatchewan Huskies 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 21-25, 15-9) inside the PAC.
 
The Wesmen excelled at positioning themselves with chances to attack on the night, finishing with 23 more kills than the Huskies on 196 total attacks in the game.
 
It was a balanced attack from Winnipeg. Emma Parker finished with 17 kills, Ashleigh Laube 15, Kalena Shulz 14 and Taylor Boughton 11. The key piece in making that offence tick all night was setter Rylie Dickson who racked up an outstanding 54 assists.
 
For Saskatchewan it was the usual suspects leading the way as outside hitters Emily Koshinsky and Olivia Mattern recorded 17 and 11 kills respectively.
 
The Huskies took a close first set thanks to their efficiency. Winnipeg made 11 attack errors in the set while Saskatchewan made none and Mandi Fraser had four of her six kills on the night to give the home team a 25-23 victory.
 
Winnipeg bounced back to dominate the next two sets however.
 
Hitting .295 as a team in the second set and then jumping out to a monumental 24-9 lead in the third, the visitors won sets two and three by scores of 25-22 and 25-16.
 
Much like last night the Huskies refused to go away however, taking advantage of a loose set from the Wesmen to force a fifth and final set.
 
With that fifth set tied at eight apiece the Wesmen took over.
 
Two kills from Parker and three-straight attack errors from the Huskies gave Winnipeg an advantage they wouldn't let slip away en route to salvaging a weekend split.
 
With the result Winnipeg moves to 8-10 on the season as they continue to battle with a number of teams for the final two playoff spots in the conference.
 
The loss drops the Huskies to 10-6 on the year where they currently hold sole possession of fifth place.
 
Next up for the Huskies is a trip South to face their provincial rivals, the Regina Cougars. Winnipeg meanwhile will return home to take on the MacEwan Griffins.