The University of Saskatchewan Huskies volleyball teams started the new season each with a win and loss to the University of Winnipeg Wesmen.

After a fifth place finish in the Canada West last year, the Huskies men’s volleyball team came into the 2014–15 season looking to improve off of last year’s finish. They kicked off their new season with a pair of games this past weekend in Winnipeg.

On Oct. 10, the Dogs dropped the opener to the hosting Wesmen, in a thrilling five-set match, by a score of 3–2. The matches went 14–25, 25–17, 22–25, 25–23, 15–11.

Paul Thomson led the Huskies with 14 kills in the match while Jordan Nowakowski carried the defence with 14 digs. Recording a team-high, Nowakowski also had four serving aces. Thomas Douglas-Powell was the difference maker as he hammered 23 kills for the victorious Wesmen.

The following the day, the Huskies picked up win number one of the young season as they rolled to a 3–1 win with scores of 23–25, 26–24, 25–22 and 30–28. The team avoided being swept on the opening weekend.

Matthew Busse was the key to the Huskies win as he led the team in kills with 20, as well as digs with 12. Tyler Epp chipped in with a game-high eight blocks. The Dogs actually lost the first set before rebounding nicely and winning three straight to close out the Wesmen. Both teams sit with 1–1 records and are part of a four-way tie for fifth place.

It was a disappointing season a year ago as the women’s volleyball team finished in eighth place in Canada West, just narrowly missing the playoffs. They were also in Winnipeg and earned a weekend split as they won on Oct. 10, but were defeated by the Wesmen on Oct. 11.

The first match of the weekend was an intense contest as the Huskies dropped the first two sets, but would rally and complete the comeback for a 3–2 win on opening day. The scores of the match came in as 16–25, 21–25, 25–17, 25–14 and 15–9. Emmalyn Copping was a dominant force as she recorded 19 kills and 19 digs — both of which were team-highs. Being able to take advantage of some key Wesmen errors down the stretch, the Huskies stunned the home side and tallied their first win.

The following day was a different story as the Wesmen closed out the Dogs in just four sets (23–25, 25–23, 25–20, 25–21) and managed a split of the weekend series. Emily Humbert had a team-high in kills with 13. Once again, Copping led the team in digs with 16 and also added five serving aces in the losing cause.

Both the men’s and women’s teams return home now to host the University of Alberta with games going on Oct. 17 and 18 at the PAC. Game time is 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men.