SASKATOON, Sask. – After securing the opening set, the Saskatchewan Huskies were unable to punch their ticket to the second round of the Canada West women’s volleyball playoffs as the Trinity Western Spartans took the final three frames enroute to a three sets to one win (19-25, 25-16, 26-24, 25-21) Saturday afternoon (Feb 22) at the Physical Activity Complex. The result now sets up a winner-take-all game three tomorrow afternoon.
After an opening set that saw the Huskies out-hit the Spartans in total kills (12-11) and efficiency (30%-9%), the visitors flipped the momentum, outpacing Saskatchewan in total kills 43-35 over the remaining three sets.
Maryn Boldon played a pivotal role in the turnaround for the Spartans, collecting 18 kills and 20.5 points, both of which were game-highs for the Okotoks, AB product. The third-year Spartan was also efficient with her swings, posting a .359 hitting percentage on 39 total attacks over the four set match.
Said Bolden after the Spartans victory, “I think we just had a fire in us. We’ve been seeing this potential all season and we’ve really just been building on that, understanding our strengths and using them to our advantage. I think it was a whole team effort.”
Despite the narrow defeat for the Huskies, Jessica Bergstrom and Taryn Hannah both enjoyed solid performances for Saskatchewan, putting up nearly identical point totals with 14.5 and 14, respectively.
Hannah led the Huskies in kills, collecting 12 on a team-high 34 attacks and leading to the Battleford, SK native hitting at a clip of 26.5%. Rounding out her stat sheet, Hannah also managed to nab three digs, two assisted blocks and one service ace.
Meanwhile for Bergstrom, it was her presence at the net defensively that stood out for the Dogs as the 2nd-year Kinesiology student posted a season-high nine total blocks. Bergstrom’s offense was also on display for Saskatchewan, managing to convert ten kills on 19 attacks, translating to a respectable .462 hitting percentage.
Heading into game three, Saskatchewan head coach Mark Dodds believes his team can recover from their game two setback in this evenly matched series.
“It’s tough when you lose. You always look at the negative side, but we fought back. We got down big in a couple of the sets and we continued to fight. Last night, we were one percent better than them. Tonight, they were one percent better than us.”
With both squads looking to punch their ticket to the second round, game three is set for Sunday afternoon (Feb 23) at 3:00PM on Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC.
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