Tanner Michalenko, Huskie Athletics

SASKATOON – The No. 2 ranked Trinity Western University Spartan men's volleyball team continued a strong start to their season Friday night on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court inside the PAC, defeating the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in four sets (23-25, 25-18, 25-14 25-20)

The win will improve the Spartan record to 6-1 on the year, while the Huskies drop to 3-4.

Fourth year Jacob Kern was a force to reckon with throughout the match, registering game-highs in kills and hitting percentage; 22 and .576. Third year Eric Loeppky chipped in with 16 kills, a service ace and five digs. The Spartans finished the match hitting at a .385 clip.

For the Huskies, it was fifth-year Colin Fraser and second-year Dylan Mortensen leading the way with 11 kills each. Fraser would also provide an ace at the service, while Mortensen collected six digs. As a team, the Huskies hit at a .210 clip on the match.

It was back and forth throughout the majority of the first set as the Huskies played with energy out of the gate. They would eventually scrap up an 22-18 advantage before the Spartans spent a timeout. Out of the timeout, Trinity Western would grab five of the next seven points to shrink to lead to 24-23. Fraser sealed the deal for Saskatchewan thereafter, his kill won the set 25-23.

The Spartans started off the second set much better than the first, building a lead they wouldn't surrender. Despite a few Spartan attack errors to keep the Huskies hanging around, Loeppky powered his team down the stretch with a couple of timely kills. Trinity Western took the set 25-18.

Kern got his team rolling in the second set. A few early kills plus a handful of attack errors from the Huskies gave Trinity Western a 9-4 advantage early on. The Huskies couldn't seem to shake off the misplays as the set went on, two more late errors gave the Spartans the 25-14 win.

In the fourth and final set, Trinity Western built a 23-16 advantage and looked to cruise to victory. A Spartan error plus three quick Huskie kills would trim the lead to 23-20. That's as close as Saskatchewan would come though, as Kern and Loeppky each provided a kill to take the set 25-20 and thus, clinch victory for Trinity Western.

These two teams will play game two of their weekend matchup tomorrow night on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC. First serve is slated for 8 P.M and the game can be viewed live online via CanadaWest.TV.