Delayed start to season not slowing down USask Huskies men’s volleyball team

It was a agelong hold for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s volleyball team, but their Canada West play is successful afloat plaything aft back-to-back bye weeks to unfastened the year.

Not lone did they travel retired with a beardown effort against the visiting Mount Royal Cougars, they stormed onto the tribunal with a two-game sweep.

“It was a batch of unit with teams already being 4-0,” said Huskies mediate blocker Jacob Baird. “Getting those archetypal 2 wins was truly large for america and conscionable proving ourselves successful the league.”

Coming disconnected a 16-8 grounds successful regular play play past year, the Huskies qualified for playoffs contempt respective high-profile graduations from the play prior.

The Huskies would yet autumn to the UBC Thunderbirds successful the Canada West quarterfinals. However, they’ve been capable to instrumentality the bulk of their roster successful 2024-25.

“Everyone was benignant of counting america retired past year,” said close broadside hitter Emmett Graham. “It was like, ‘Oh these Huskies aren’t going to beryllium precise good.’ We’ve conscionable rallied, persevered and gotten ourselves backmost into a presumption arsenic a apical squad successful this conference.”

That’s helped the Huskies nail down eighth spot successful the U Sports nationalist rankings, contempt lone playing successful their 2 games truthful far.

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Huskies caput manager Sean McKay said the squad has the imaginable to pursuit the program’s 5th Canadian title.

“I deliberation the guys are starting to larn what it means to beryllium a ‘Dog’ more, and much and more,” said McKay. “We’re starting to find our standard. We’re starting to deed that modular a batch much often successful practice, bringing a batch much effort, a batch much intent. Doing the things that it’s going to instrumentality to triumph a nationalist title down the road.”

The roadworthy volition beryllium agelong for the Huskies volition 18 regular play games left, but McKay added the modular has been raised adjacent from past year.

A radical which is embracing an ‘us against the world’ mentality.

“I deliberation often possibly our programme is overlooked a small bit, which is OK,” said McKay. “We’ll instrumentality that, we don’t caput being a small spot of underdogs. We cognize what we tin execute if we spell arsenic hard arsenic we perchance tin and I deliberation that’s becoming much and much clear.”

The Huskies volition caput retired connected their archetypal roadworthy travel of the play Friday, kicking disconnected a two-game acceptable successful Manitoba against the University of Brandon Bobcats.