WINNIPEG — The Manitoba Bisons women's volleyball team welcomed the East division-leading Saskatchewan Huskies to the Investors Group Athletic Centre Friday night for the first of two weekend games.
The Huskies entered play with five consecutive wins against the Bisons dating back to the 2018-19 season and extended that streak to six with a thrilling 3-2 win on Friday.
The win for the Huskies was also their ninth of the year, but it didn't come easily for them.
"This Manitoba team plays some of the best defence I've seen," Huskies head coach Mark Dodds said. "It takes a lot of perseverance to beat them and we were able to do that tonight."
The Bisons had multiple players returning to action and looked energized in the first set. They jumped out to an early lead and eventually won the set 25-22. Light Uchechukwu and Ella Gray each had six kills for the Bisons and Katreena Bentley picked up 13 assists in the set.
An evenly played second set saw the teams tied at 22 heading into a timeout. During the break, the Huskies drew up three unanswered points to take the set 25-22 and tie the game 1-1. Saskatchewan's Emily Koshinsky entered play sitting second in the Canada West ranks for kills and exploded for seven in the set.
Both teams were desperate to take a crucial third set and it was Manitoba who would have to fight off a late rally to take the frame 25-22. The set win for the home team was the result of a balanced offensive attack and a lack of errors.
With their backs against the wall, Saskatchewan switched gears and took a commanding 17-3 lead in the fourth and forced a fifth set with a 25-9 win.
The Huskies started the fifth and final set strong, taking five of the first six points. The Bisons countered by going on their own 5-1 run and tied the set at six. From there, the teams traded points before the Huskies put the game away with a late run.
After coming a mere three points from upsetting the first placed Huskies, Bisons head coach Ken Bentley said he was happy with his team's effort.
"I thought it was a good matchup against a good team," he said. "We had a good chance to win tonight and will try our best to bring the same effort tomorrow."
The teams will meet again at the Investors Group Athletic Centre on Saturday at 5 p.m. for their final matchup of the regular season.
