The Keyano Huskies Women’s Volleyball team shook off a first-set loss Friday in southern Alberta, topping the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in four sets (22-25, 25-16, 25-23, 28-26) to extend their winning streak to six games.
“It was a big win,” Head Coach Hayden Nichol said. “We knew coming in this was one of the better teams in the South and it was going to be a pretty tough match for our first regular season game of 2023.
“At the end of the day pretty much everybody did their job and what they were supposed to do.”
Tyneille Neufeld came through with 15 kills while Lauren Huntley added nine as the Huskies improved to 4-0 against the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) South Division. Amber Francis and Megan Polant each added five kills as well.
In a match where the only lopsided score was in the second set, the Huskies recovered quickly and well from dropping the first set.
“We came into this weekend expecting a battle a little bit more than we did first semester,” Nichol said of the challenge from opposition. “Just because of all the success and all the sweeps we had first semester, the message going into this week was we can’t just walk in and expect teams to roll over for us.”
True to Nichol’s statement, the Huskies enjoyed a stranglehold in the fourth set before the Kodiaks came roaring back to extend the match. While the two sides had to play some extra points, the Huskies eventually came out on top.
“It wasn’t always the prettiest at times, but we need to look at trying to nip those runs when we’re in the lead,” Nichol added. “It almost came back to bite us there, especially in the fourth set.”
Raisa Stokes and Rebecca Maxwell tied for the team lead with 11 digs. Maxwell added 31 assists, four kills, and three blocks to her effort.
Adding three service aces and a block to her stat line, Francis garnered Player of the Game honours for the visiting Huskies.
The win moved the Huskies to 8-2 on the season, keeping them locked into third place in the ACAC North Division.
Saturday, the Huskies will roll into Calgary to challenge the 11-2 Ambrose University Lions. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
