University of Saskatchewan Huskies take on the University of British Columbia in the Canada West Semifinal of Men's Volleyball action in Saskatoon, SK, April 6, 2017. (Photo Electric Umbrella/Derek Mortensen)

By Ben Tompkins

Final Home Game

Huskie men playing for Canada West bronze, spot in U Sports National Championship

Mar 9, 2023 | 3:35 PM

The University of Saskatchewan Huskie men’s volleyball team will have a lot to play for this weekend, in their final game at the PAC this season.

Both the University of Alberta Golden Bears and the Trinity Western Spartans have already booked their ticket to Hamilton, as they’re set to face each other in the Canada West Final.

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan is set to host the Calgary Dinos, for the bronze medal match. Whoever comes out on top, will earn the final spot in the U Sports Championship, Mar. 17-19.

“I think the boys have been working hard all year to get to the chance to play a match where we’re battling to go to Nationals,” head coach Sean McKay told HuskieFAN. “We’ve worked hard for it and I think the boys deserve the shot at Nationals but the work is not done yet, this one match against Calgary should be a battle.”

And it will only be one match, versus the three-game series that both teams played in the quarter and semi-finals.

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The Dinos swept the MRU Cougars in the quarters, and on the road, 3-0 and 3-2, before getting swept themselves in Langley, against the Spartans, 2-3 and 1-3 in the semis.

As for the Huskies, they came back in their quarter-final matchup, with two 3-2 wins on their home court, against the UBC Thunderbirds, after getting blanked in straight sets in game one. They then also lost in the semis, with 1-3 and 0-3 losses in Edmonton, against Alberta.

“I think we just have to get to the point where we’re playing one match because there’s just too much volleyball going on if you go best of three all the time,” explained McKay. “One match to decide it obviously leaves a little bit up to chance, but I think if we show up and play our game, we should be fine within that one match.”

The two teams have a bit of familiarity this season, as they faced off four weekends ago, in Saskatoon, with the Dogs getting consecutive three-set victories, on Feb. 10 and 11.

While McKay believes his team can take some positives from those matches, he doesn’t want them to feel too overconfident, heading into the weekend.

“I think our game plan and execution was good last time we played them,” he said. “By that time in the season, most teams are kind of finding their identity, but Calgary found there’s a bit late this year, just with some lineup changes. They’re still settling into that lineup and doing a lot of similar things that they were before, but doing them a whole lot better, so we’re going to expect a lot more of a push from Calgary this time around.”

The U of S will rely heavily on two things, in particular, this weekend, if they are to take home a medal and extend their season.

According to McKay, one is the play of their star player Dylan Mortensen.

“Morty always seems to show up and play consistently and he’s a huge huge part of our team. This is his last chance to play at the PAC, so I’m sure he’ll be just living in the moment and enjoying every second of it. Hopefully, we can show up with him on Friday and everyone can put together a good performance… Morty will definitely be a huge piece to that success.”

The fifth-year outside hitter set the conference career record for kills and points in his final regular season game, earlier this year.

Mortensen broke the previous records set by Mount Royal’s Tyler Schmidt of 1482 (kills) and 1747 (points).

And, the second key will be the home crowd as they try to cheer their team on to a victory.

“We’ve got a great record at home against some really good teams, feeding off the crowd and allowing that to bleed some energy into our game, and that caters well into our physical style of play,” added McKay. “I think we’re in a good spot, we love being at home, we love being back at the serving line, especially at home. So I think we’re going to be in a pretty good spot with a pretty good crowd.”

The Huskies seek their first trip to the national championship, since 2016, while the Dinos are looking to advance to the U SPORTS championship for a second consecutive year.

Game time is Friday, Mar. 10, starting at 7 p.m. Saskatchewan time, at the Physical Activity Complex in Saskatoon.

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Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter @BenTompkins_8