Men's Volleyball Huskies rebound to claim ACAC Bronze, earn eighth ACAC medal
Saturday afternoon in Lloydminster, Sask., there was a still an air of disappointment and a feeling of let down in how the previous night had gone for the Keyano Huskies Men’s Volleyball team.
By Saturday evening however, that disappointment had been drowned out by as much inaudible rave music that one locker room could handle.
Emerging from that room was a team focused on playing for each other and for the third spot on the podium in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). They did just that with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) win against the host Lakeland Rustlers in the Bronze Medal game, their third win of the season against the Rustlers in the Border City.
“Our block today was unbelievable,” Head Coach Keegan Kuhr said. “I’m not sure we’ve blocked that well all season. It was nice to see that happen in our last game.
“Lakeland had a great crowd today and a great team and obviously we were just a little bit better today.”
Whether it was the many staircases, twists, and turns of that first night on the subway in Tokyo, Japan last August or their opposition throughout 19 regular season games and one playoff game, the Huskies had overcome or taken important lessons from all those challenges at each point.
A regular season loss to the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings in the first half was supposed to be the fuel for the fire in a Championship game rematch.
However, as it so often goes in sports for all but one team, the Huskies didn’t get their vision of a perfect ending. But they got close.
Close in this context earned them their eighth ACAC medal in the past 12 seasons. While it’s made them among one of the top programs in that timeframe, it’s a modicum of the expectations they’ve held themselves to.
“I’m happy we got the win,” libero Anderson King said following Saturday’s match against the Rustlers, leading all players on both sides of the court with 12 digs. “I’m still pretty disappointed in the semi-final. I think we deserved to be there [in the final].
“Certain points just didn’t go our way. It’s unfortunate.”
As much as they might not want to hear it in the aftermath of a match that saw the official conclusion of six ACAC careers, there were bright spots to reflect on from Saturday’s win.
With a home crowd stacked against them and trying to throw off their every serve, the Huskies were down in the opening set until Kai Rosnau entered the court, serving until the Huskies were into the lead before they eventually took the 1-0 lead.
“We’re so lucky to have Kai,” Kuhr added. “I’ve said it all year, we have one of the deepest benches in the ACAC.
“For Kai to come in and basically serve us that first set and get in a little bit in the second set, we’re really excited that he’s back with us next year. We’re very thankful for his performance.”
In the absence of the on-court presence of João Cunha and Noah Gagné, Cameron Calhoun, Brody Kopec, and Nikola Sreckovic once again took advantage of the opportunity.
Kopec tied with Rafael Parada Lima with seven kills on the day while Calhoun was at six on the day. Sreckovic added 23 assists to his weekend total in the win, getting one last chance to showcase his game on the court in his ACAC career.
“He’s such a super athlete,” Kuhr said of Sreckovic. “Touches high and sets the ball really well. I think we connects really well with Athus so I thought he got Athus going really well and spreading the ball around well enough. It was nice to see him out there in his final ACAC game.”
Perhaps most emotional and real in the moment was Athus Silva. The North Division Player of the Year added six kills and six blocks in his final appearance on an ACAC court as a student-athlete to enjoy one last win with his teammates.
There was once a time when the Men’s Volleyball program had one win in a five-season stretch during the 1990s. Those days may not make this current year’s group feel any better in the moment, but there will be a time in the future when the Huskies win it all again like they did in 2018-19.
And when that group does, it will be because of what each iteration of this program, especially this year’s, handed down to the next.
King, Kopec named Tournament All-Stars
There were more accolades for the Huskies at the end of the tournament as King and Kopec were named to the Tournament All-Star Team.
King led the tournament in total digs (33) and digs per set (2.75). Kopec ranked second on the Huskies and seventh at the tournament with 27 kills over the three games. He also contributed six blocks, five digs, and a pair of aces while appearing in all 12 sets the Huskies played over the weekend.