Cameron Doherty, Huskie Athletics
SASKATOON – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies women's volleyball team took the reigning Canada West champions and current No. 1 ranked team in the country, the Calgary Dinos all the way to five sets but couldn't quite pull off the upset in a 3-2 loss on Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court inside the PAC on Friday, Nov. 9.
A back and forth match saw the Dinos emerge the victors thanks to scores of 26-24, 16-25, 25-13, 24-26 and 15-9.
Calgary was led on the night by a quartet of attackers that all finished with double-digit kills. Kate Pexman (18), Beth Vinnell (15), Kenzie Vaandering (13) and Hannah Tansichuk (13) were all part of a balanced attack that hit .255% on the night.
Responding for the Huskies was Emily Koshinsky with 22 kills and Regan Wiebe with 13. Third-year libero Shae Beaulieu recorded 19 of the Huskies' 57 digs in the game.
A first set that went past 25 set the tone for what was to come the rest of the night.
With the Dinos leading 20-15 a run of four straight attacking errors from Calgary brought the Huskies right back into the set. The teams then traded points until two-straight kills from Emily Koshinsky gave the Huskies to 24-23 lead.
Calgary found a way to respond however and scored three-straight points, capped off by a kill from Adriel Goodman to take the first set.
The second set would lack the dramatic flair of the opening one, as the Huskies would pull away late. Leading 17-15, Saskatchewan ripped off an 8-1 run thanks in part to a pair of kills from Georgia Hurry and a service ace from Koshinsky.
Calgary rebounded in the third and dominated en route to the 25-13 set victory. Seven kills each from Pexman and Vinnell paced the Dinos in the set.
It was the Dinos turn to go on a late run and send the game past 25 points in the fourth set. Trailing 21-16, Calgary went on an 8-3 run to tie the game up at 24. The Huskies would make sure their first game of the season in front of their hometown fans went the distance however, after a kill from Koshinsky and an attack error from Calgary ended the fourth with Saskatchewan winning 26-24.
Despite the back and forth nature of the match, the Dinos came out in the fifth and final set determined to keep their record perfect in 2018-19. After taking the lead at 7-6, Calgary cruised to the 15-9 victory to end the match.
With the win Calgary moves to 5-0 on the season, while despite the valiant effort Saskatchewan falls to 2-3 in 2018-19.
These two teams will be back in action tomorrow, Nov. 10, with a scheduled start time of 6 p.m. That game can be watched live on canadawest.tv.