Men's volleyball opens season with straight set loss

Men's volleyball opens season with straight set loss

Tanner Michalenko, Saskatchewan Sports Information Student Assistant

SASKATOON – The Trinity Western University Spartans opened the 2017-18 Canada West men's volleyball season with a straight set (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) victory over the University of Saskatchewan Huskies Friday night at the PAC.

It was the first match of the year for both teams.

In the first set, the Spartans seemed to trade points two-for-one with the Huskies as they built the lead. Trinity Western slowly controlled the pace to earn a 25-21 win in the opening set.

In the second set, neither team could seem to pull away from one another. The Huskies saw their first lead at 15-14 courtesy of a Colin Fraser kill. However, the Spartans would storm back to score four straight.  The Huskies came close to a comeback, narrowing the lead to 19-17. But the Spartans would once again score four straight for the 25-18 win.

In the final set, the Huskies led 17-15. But, the Spartans went on a 6-1 run.  The Huskies clawed back to pull within one. Dylan Mortenson's ace made it 21-20 for the Spartans but it was as close as the Huskies' would come. Trinity Western would close the match on a 3-0 run as Jackson Howe would kill the final point for the Spartans. 

Jacob Kern lead the Spartan attack with game-high 14 kills and four digs. Eric Loeppky chipped in with nine kills and six digs.

Mortenson lead the team with nine kills, while CJ Gavlas provided 26 assists.

The teams meet again Saturday night at the PAC. First serve is at 6 p.m.