Weekend Preview: Huskies' court sport teams eye strong finish to first half
The Keyano Huskies court sport teams will enter their final weekend of action for the first half this weekend, featuring home volleyball games Thursday and Saturday at the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre.
Women’s Volleyball Preview
Games: Thursday, November 28 vs. Briercrest College Clippers (6-1) at 6:00pm, Saturday, November 30 vs. Medicine Hat Rattlers (2-5) at 6:00pm
Location: Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre
Watch: https://acactv.ca/ & Telus Optik 1998
Fresh off being recognized as the eight-best team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Keyano Huskies Women’s Volleyball team will put their home undefeated streak on the line against two very credible opponents.
First off will be a battle against the Briercrest College Clippers on Thursday. As the ACAC’s South Division leaders, the Clippers conceded their lone loss to the NAIT Ooks at the start of November. The Huskies will look to contain the duo of Julia Beer, ranked third in the conference with 3.60 kills per set, and Rachel Stead, third in the conference with 0.72 blocks per set.
The Huskies will counter with captain Karlene Kaminski, who is averaging 2.85 kills per set throughout the course of this season. That figure rises to 3.73 on the home court and she’ll be a key component in their success.
Player to watch: Erika Box (Saskatoon, Sask.) is 33 assists shy of 1,000 for her career, a figure she could reach this weekend. She’s also come through with some key blocks in the Huskies’ last match on the home court against the Ambrose Lions.
Women’s Basketball Preview
Games: Friday, November 29 vs. Briercrest College Clippers (4-3) at 5:00pm, Saturday, November 30 vs. Medicine Hat Rattlers (3-4) at 6:00pm
Location: Caronport, Sask. & Medicine Hat, Alta.
Watch: https://acactv.ca/ & Telus Optik 1998
The Keyano Huskies Women’s Basketball team will venture to the South Division for the last time in the regular season with this weekend’s matchups against the Clippers and Rattlers.
Both home sides have winning records at home at the moment with the Clippers at a perfect 2-0 to date and the Rattlers at 2-1. The Huskies will be eyeing a similar performance to their last road venture, which saw them tie their season high for field goals in a game and hold one of the top-ranked teams in the division to just 59 points in a strong finish against the St. Mary’s University Lightning.
Player to watch: Emma Tomchuk (Thompson, Man.) surpassed 250 points for her ACAC career in Friday’s win at home, sinking four three-point shots for her 12-point performance. The Huskies can already count on the usual suspects to supply the majority of the team’s offence but having performances like Tomchuk’s aids in the team’s ability to spread out their offence.
Men’s Volleyball Preview
Games: Thursday, November 28 vs. Briercrest College Clippers (4-3) at 8:00pm, Saturday, November 30 vs. Medicine Hat Rattlers (4-3) at 8:00pm
Location: Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre
Watch: https://acactv.ca/ & Telus Optik 1998
Hosting a pair of South Division opponents to close out the first half, the Men’s Volleyball Huskies will close out their first half against two motivated squads looking to climb up the South Division standings. The Rattlers have won all four of their games against North Division competition while the Clippers have reeled off three wins in a row against similar foes.
As winners of three-straight games, the Huskies will want to finish their season with wins as well. Powering them there are João Cunha, who is one kill shy of his fourth ACAC season with at least 100 kills. Teammate Noah Gagné, who recently surpassed 1000 assists for his ACAC career, is second in the conference with 8.58 assists per set, looking to get a head start on the next 1000.
Player to watch: Anderson King (Edson, Alta.) ranked seventh in the ACAC North Division for digs in his second season but rose to second in the 2023-24 and this year, where he’s currently averaging 2.44 digs per set. As a key part of the team’s defence, watching what the fifth year has accomplished has been nothing short of special.
Men’s Basketball Preview
Games: Friday, November 29 vs. Briercrest College Clippers (6-1) at 7:00pm, Saturday, November 30 vs. Medicine Hat Rattlers (4-3) at 6:00pm
Location: Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre
Watch: https://acactv.ca/ & Telus Optik 1998
Division leaders clash Friday night in Caronport, Sask. as the Huskies and Clippers do battle in their lone meeting of the regular season.
The Huskies won the last meeting in a match that went down to the wire in Fort McMurray with a 91-89 finish. The Clippers, who recently took their first loss at the hands of the Concordia Thunder will be looking for a quick swing back into the win column, especially at home where they’re 2-0 already.
Player to watch: DJ Haynes (Naples, Florida, USA) has been a consistent scoring threat for the Huskies this year. Coming off his first non-double-digit performance of the season in last Saturday’s win against SAIT, where he came close with eight, he’ll be one of the key players required to step up in an important game, showing he’s capable of that before. Haynes is still stepping up outside of the scoresheet as well, averaging more rebounds per game (4.5 to 4.1), and assists per game (2.8 to 2.4) than last year’s figures.