Tanner Michalenko, Huskie Athletics

SASKATOON – The No. 3 ranked Trinity Western University Spartan women's volleyball team kept their perfect record in tact Friday night on Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court inside the PAC, defeating the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in three straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-21).

The win continues a perfect season for the Spartans as their record improves to 9-0. The Huskies fall to 2-5. 

Third-year outside hitter Hilary Howe led the way for Trinity Western, recording a team-high 14 kills to go along with six digs. Avery Heppell, Savannah Purdy and Mikaelyn Sych all contributed 12 kills apiece. The Spartan attack was efficient all night long, hitting at .417 per cent clip.

For the Huskies, third year Emily Koshinsky finished with a game-high 15 kills to go along with 2 aces at the service. Taylor Annala and Regan Wiebe each pitched in 7 kills. Wiebe also had a game-high 10 digs.

Saskatchewan started off the match on the right foot but couldn't find the finishing touches. An early 10-6 advantage slowly disappeared for the Huskies as the Spartans clawed their way back to a 21-19 advantage. From there, Trinity Western would go on a 4-0 run to win the set 25-19, capped off by back-to-back kills from Howe.

A few attack errors set the Huskies back early on in the second set. Trinity Western jumped out to a 14-7 advantage and they wouldn't relinquish the lead throughout the entirety of the set, taking it 25-15.

The third set was a back-and-forth battle that saw neither team pull away with a large lead. With their backs against the wall, the Huskies fought back from an 18-11 deficit to make things interesting down the final stretch. A 23-21 score is as close as they would come, as Purdy capped off the straight set sweep with a couple of kills to end the match.

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 6 p.m. and the game can be viewed live online via CanadaWest.TV.