Men's Volleyball Huskies set for three-game clash with Ooks
The Keyano Huskies Men's Volleyball team will take on the NAIT Ooks for a multi-game weekend with huge implications for first place in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference's North Division. Sound familiar?
With the Huskies ranked first and the Ooks ranked second, both programs will meet for a trio of regular season contests starting Friday night in Edmonton that could very determine who claims the top spot in the ACAC North Division this year.
"We just started talking about it right away," said Head Coach Keegan Kuhr. "We knew what was at stake.
"We knew what this weekend meant and I know, myself included, we're excited."
The Huskies sit at 8-2 through 10 games while the Ooks have an 8-1 record through nine games. The King's University Eagles follow close behind in third with a 7-1 record through eight matches.
Since an opening weekend defeat, the Huskies have conquered each challenge sent their way, accumulating their eight wins in a row, conceding just nine sets across that span.
They know they'll have to be sharp once again to face the challenge of the Ooks.
"If we side out well, pass well, have good block [defence], we'll find some success," said Anderson King. "I think we're right there with them, we've just got to play our game."
It's been a while since the Huskies were on NAIT's campus for regular season action, last facing them there on November 16, 2019. They'd prefer to remember a different 2019 date though from February, where they claimed ACAC gold with three wins in three days under the usual playoff format.
"It's that mentality that we're trying to bring into this,' continued Kuhr. "We know NAIT's really good.
"Three wins is going to be extremely difficult, but we're up for the challenge."
Led by Shae McIntyre's figure of 3.07, the Ooks have a quartet averaging better than two kills per set. They've also conceded just a single set on home court in regular season action this year, which is another challenge the Huskies will have to contend with.
Countering for the Huskies is a wide range of assets to their winning streak, including Trey Weinmeier's 3.39 kills per set, 139 kills, and .547 hitting percentage, which all rank in the top five of the conference.
Defensively, Athus Silva and Preston Yole find themselves in the top five for blocks per set while Silva owns the overall blocks lead in the conference with 43. Staying on the defensive side of the ball, King ranks among the top dig contributors in the conference with 75 total and 2.21 per set.
That adds to the team's confidence, which they're also keeping in check as the weekends progress towards playoff season.
"There's got to be some sort of confidence, a little bit of cockiness," said King. "I think we deserve it, but at the same time we've got to humble ourselves and practice hard."
The Huskies and Ooks will meet for their first of three games on Friday at 8:00 p.m. They'll meet Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. as well.
The Ooks currently are not permitting fans to attend their games. Alternatively, fans can tune into the game via ACAC TV and Telus Optik.