Men's Volleyball Huskies top Lions to return to win column

The Keyano Huskies Men’s Volleyball team continued to thrive on the home-court atmosphere at the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre, cruising to a straight-sets (25-15, 25-11, 25-11) win Friday night. 

“It was a nice bounce-back win after a disappointing Red Deer match,” Head Coach Keegan Kuhr said. “We came back from that match hungry and it showed tonight. Guys really wanted it.
 
“It’s nice to get it done in three and obviously in front of our amazing crowd.”  
 
João Cunha led the Huskies once more with 13 kills while Rafael Parada added eight. Brody Kopec and Athus Silva had five and four kills respectively. While the Huskies stepped up on offence, they also played a punishing game at the net with 11 blocks, led by five from Silva, and at the service line with 10, led by Parada’s four.  
 
“Tonight was great for the guys because it shows that we put in the work throughout the week and we don’t give up easy,” middle Preston Yole said. “We saw we weren’t really following our systems in the Red Deer game so we really focused on putting our system in work throughout the week and I think we were very successful with it.”   

In addition to Anderson King’s team-leading eight digs, seven other Huskies collected a dig in the match. The win moved the Huskies to 4-1 and back to sole possession of the top spot in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) North Division for the time.  
 
The win wasn’t just a chance to reset at home, but for the team to showcase to their fans and to themselves what makes them one of the top teams in the conference.  
 
Yole was a prime example of that, who did a lot with the opportunity given to him once again, collecting three aces, three blocks, two digs, a kill, and even an ace. He didn’t end the night as the team’s leader in any of those categories but was still a strong threat his opposition had to account for in addition to the usual suspects on the Huskies.  
 
“Preston’s an unsung hero for the team,” Kuhr added of the fifth year from Île-à-la-Crosse, Sask. “He never complains about his volume, he just goes out there, puts his hard hat on, does his work every single day.  
 
“He had a good game for us, three aces, a couple blocks, a couple kills. You need guys like this on a team to be great. Very happy that Preston’s one of those guys does whatever we ask.”

The Huskies will make their second trip of the year to the ACAC’s South Division, taking on the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks and SAIT Trojans November 15 and 16.