ABBOTSFORD, B.C. – The University of Saskatchewan Huskies rebounded from an opening set loss to upset the top-ranked University of the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-1 (11-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-23) in game one of the Canada West quarterfinals on Friday in Abbotsford.
The Huskies now take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-three. They will have a chance to advance to the Canada West semifinals and book a spot in the USPORTS Nationals with a win on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT, while the Cascades will look to force a deciding third match.
“I think we have just been building throughout the second half of the season,” Huskies head coach Mark Dodds said post-game.
“We have been executing pretty well across the board, and I felt we rebounded pretty well tonight. The first set started off quite poorly – in someone else’s gym where not many of our players had played before, so we were shaky to start. The fact we rebounded and found that stable consistency was pretty cool to see in a big moment.”
UFV looked strong in the opening set, with Lauren Attieh, Mandi Feist, and Kinna Fisher all knocking down at least one of the Cascades five aces. After the Cascades jumped out to a 7-3 lead, a pair of long runs late in the frame helped them take the set 25-11.
The Huskies battled back in the second, building a 12-4 lead after a pair of Taryn Hannah kills. UFV chipped away at the deficit, but Abbey Klein added three consecutive kills in the middle portion of the set to re-establish a seven-point lead. UFV’s Aubrey Gingles found a kill and a block late, but Saskatchewan closed out the set 25-20.
Three straight Keeley Anderson service aces early in the third gave the Huskies a 6-3 lead. After Saskatchewan made it 11-6, UFV head coach Janelle Rozema called a timeout. Coming out of the huddle, the Cascades scored the next six points to go up 12-11. The teams traded points throughout the rest of the frame, but with the score tied up at 23 the Huskies found the final two points to finish off the set.
The Huskies were again the first team to 20 in the fourth set, going up 20-17, and despite the Cascades cutting the deficit to just one, two Anderson kills closed out the match.
“We beat them in every statistical category tonight,” UFV head coach Janelle Rozema noted after the loss. “We were just better at the wrong times, and they were better at the right times. Tomorrow, we have to be better at those right times and just be more consistent.”
“If we can find some more consistency with our execution tomorrow, we won’t have to worry about the timing of when we are good in the match.”
UFV’s Attieh led her team offensively, picking up 12 kills and three aces, while also chipping in 15 digs on the night. Feist added 10 kills for the Cascades.
On Saskatchewan’s side, Anderson posted a team-high 12 kills, three aces, and 21 digs, while Klein added 10 kills.
The two teams face off again tomorrow at the UFV Athletic Centre, with the first serve set for 4 p.m. PT live on Canada West TV.