By: Tanner Michalenko, Saskatchewan Sports Information Student Assistant 

SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies opened the second half of the 2017-18 Canada West women's volleyball season with a five-set win (19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 15-10) over the University of Regina Cougars Friday night on Ron & Jane Centre Court at the PAC. 

Dropping the first and fourth sets, the Huskies were able to hold off a Regina bid for a comeback in the deciding set for the win. The Huskies built an 11-4 lead in the fifth. But Regina went on a 6-2 run midway through the set on the strength of two Ashlee Sandiford kills and a Brooklyn Reynolds ace to pull within two. A Cougars' attack error, followed by kills by Georgia Hurry and Emily Koshinsky sealed the 15-10 win for the Huskies.

With the win, the Huskies improve to 7-6. Regina drops to 5-8.

Koshinsky led Saskatchewan in the victory with a match high in kills at 16 and digs at 20. Hurry recorded another 10 kills for Saskatchewan, while Taylor Annala added nine. Shea Beaulieu also recoded 15 digs.  

For the Cougars,  Sandiford recorded a team-high 12 kills and nine digs, while third-year Haley Wagar chipped in with ten kills. Satori Togawa recorded a team-best 16 digs.

The Cougars took an opening 10-2 lead in the opening set for breathing room in the 25-20 win, despite a late Huskie rally. In the second set, Saskatchewan took control after four straight points would force a Cougar timeout at 20-14. Regina held the Huskies at set point twice before Saskatchewan evened the match with the 25-20 win.

Down 20-18 late in the third set, the Cougars went on a 5-1 run to lead 23-21. However, the Huskie stole four straight points to close the set 25-23 by capitalizing on Regina errors and a Mackenzie Pek ace. 

The fourth set saw Regina earn a 12-2 lead to start and the Cougars protected the lead to a 25-16 win.

The teams meet again on Saturday night. First serve is at 6 p.m.