Men's Volleyball Huskies set to defend home court against Thunder
The Keyano Huskies Men's Volleyball team return to the home court this weekend, eager to begin 2022 the same way they left 2021.
Following an 0-2 start in early November, the Huskies posted four straight victories to put themselves back in the conversation among the top teams in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference's North Division.
Playing host to the 1-6 Concordia Thunder, the Huskies aren't underestimating their opponents.
"Their record doesn't indicate how good they are," said head coach Keegan Kuhr. "There's a bunch of fourth-and-fifth year attackers on that team and they've got a real veteran group.
"I expect two really tough matches against them."
The Huskies have already whetted their appetite for competition in the new calendar year, playing a quartet of games in Olds against the Olds College Broncos and The King's University Eagles.
Capping off the four-game series with a five-set win against the Eagles.
"It was just an opportunity to get different lineups out there; see where different guys are at," continued Kuhr. "We didn't play as well as we wanted to, but to win our last game was a nice finish as we got back to practice."
Though he wasn't present on the court for the Huskies in those exhibition matches, the Huskies will be aided in Friday's contest by the return of Radoslaw Brzozowski, who has missed the last four games and most of a fifth with an injury.
Now healed, the outside hitter from Poland is eager to get back into the swing of things.
"I've been taken care of really well by our [Athletic Therapist] Karissa [Kuhr]," said Brzozowski. "Coach Keegan really made sure the recovery was going well. I'm feeling ready.
"I'm psyched for this weekend."
With his 12 kills in the season opener, Brzozowski surpassed the 500-kill mark for his ACAC career. He'll be looking to add to that while knowing he'll face a strong challenge from the Thunder.
"I expect Concordia to put us in some tough situations," he continued. "That's what we've practiced."
In other milestone stats worth watching on the horizon for the Men's Volleyball Huskies, setter Chance Wilkins currently sits at 905 assists for his ACAC career. That places the fifth-year from Airdrie, Alta. in 16th place on the ACAC's all-time list.
It also gives him a very good opportunity to become the 13th setter in ACAC history to surpass the 1,000-assist mark.
The Huskies play host to the Concordia Thunder Friday and Saturday at the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre. Friday's contest begins at 6:00 p.m. with Saturday's re-match taking place at 1:00 p.m.