Men's volleyball Huskies set to host Rustlers

Five days removed from their opening weekend of play for the 2021-22 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference season, the Keyano Huskies men's volleyball team are wiser for their experience they've had and eager to atone for a pair of losses.

What shows on the surface as an 0-2 record doesn't take in account the close battles the Huskies showed against The King's University Eagles last weekend at the Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre.

"I do believe that if you're winning sets, you're giving yourself an opportunity to win games," said head coach Keegan Kuhr. "Again, our first contact needs to be good.

"We need to be able to serve the ball well; we need to pass the ball well and I think if we do those things early and often, we should be able to find success this weekend."

While the Huskies would likely rather forget about it, it'll be important for them to remember the way in which they gave points to an Eagles team with service errors and passing that handed key points to the visitors.

Against a 2-0 Lakeland Rustlers team this weekend, they won't be able to afford many of the same errors that popped up in their opening games.

"Just coming off two losses we have to respect Lakeland coming in because they won both their games," said Travis Walls. "At this point, they're the better team and we have to prove what we've got."

"We know we're a good team. We definitely know we have to come in and play like we can to get these two wins."

The Huskies have studied the Rustlers, who boast three of the top five leaders in digs per set in the early portion of the season. They know they'll need to kill plays in their favour quickly and not get discouraged if Lakeland boasts a relentless attack.

"We know Lakeland tends to be a scrappy team; they don't like to give up on any balls," continued Walls. "We just have to keep playing the way we can and it should come out in our favour."

From Kuhr's perspective, regardless of the team that Lakeland brings to the he is more focused on a cleaner game from his side.

"We definitely need to take care of our side of the court," said Kuhr. "Lakeland have some good guys coming at us that we need to prepare for.

"I think we know Lakeland fairly well and that hopefully bodes well for us this weekend."

The men's volleyball Huskies host the Lakeland Rustlers in a pair of ACAC Men's Volleyball games this weekend. Friday's matchup begins at 6:00 p.m. while Saturday's contest kicks off at 1:00 p.m.