Women's Volleyball Huskies eye success in competitive North Division

The start of another season for the Keyano Huskies Women’s Volleyball team brings with it hope that their plan progresses for another year.  

With 16 returning players and some new additions to the gap created by the graduation of Karlene Kaminski, there’s optimism the Huskies can take a step forward within the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s (ACAC) North Division.  

“First, I think the season is going to be very competitive,” noted Head Coach Tommy Sloan. “The North is strong again and I think that teams got better over the off-season. We’re going to have to make sure that we are very ready to go on a week-to-week basis.  
 
“I don’t think any team will find success if they’re playing at 60 percent. We have to be locked in right from the start.”  
 
Last year’s ending was a sour note for the Huskies, who finished in the top four of the North Division for a fourth-straight season. However, their spot was taken by the ACAC Championship host, who finished fifth. Facing another similar situation this year, Sloan was steadfast in his focus on getting into the top three and returning to the sport’s second season.   

“[Conference championships] is the first step of our goals,” continued Sloan. “We’ll gauge success on a few different metrics.   

“The improvements from year-to-year were there last year and in that sense we had some success. We were unlucky with how the scenarios worked out last year, but we know that there’s only three spots available again in the North so the next step is to make that conference championship.” 

Adyson Wilson, a U SPORTS transfer from the TMU Bold in Ontario, will be looked to fill that spot left by Kaminski’s graduation while ACAC transfer Rebecca Scribner fits in with the current crop of Huskies in terms of experience to strengthen the front row defence.  

“It lets us pick up where we left off in a lot of ways because they’re coming in with experience from previous institutions,” Sloan said. “We don’t have a lot of learning to do in terms of what it’s like to play post-secondary volleyball.  
 
“It’s been really cool seeing both of them step in and be comfortable right away.”  
 
Up first for the Huskies is a road trip to Grande Prairie to take on the Northwestern Polytechnic Wolves, a team that beat the Huskies twice last year and were one of the teams in the mix for a playoff spot. 
 
The Huskies will then return home for their home openers against the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens and Olds College Broncos Friday, October 31 and November 1. First serve is scheduled for 6:00pm on both nights at the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre.