Just days after shocking Canada West and pulling off one of the biggest upsets this year in conference competition, the University of Saskatchewan Huskies women’s volleyball team is still taking in its historic win.
However, there’s no calling it a “Cinderella story,” according to head coach Mark Dodds.
“It was surreal and it felt great,” Dodds said. “It also felt like that was what it was supposed to be. There wasn’t a sigh of relief, that was what we expected and that’s what happened. It felt awesome, but it wasn’t a surprise.”
The Huskies are coming off a stunning Canada West quarter-final series victory over the top-ranked University of the Fraser Valley Cascades, who had lost just three games all season coming into the series.
Instead, the Huskies swept a winner-take-all Game 3 in Abbotsford, B.C., to keep their season alive and move on to the Canada West Final Four tournament in Edmonton.
The win is a historic one for the Huskies, booking their place in the conference semi-finals for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
They’ll be matched up in Edmonton against the two-time reigning conference champion UBC Thunderbirds on Friday, with the winner advancing to the Canada West gold medal game on Saturday.
“We were pretty confident going into this past weekend but I think it’s been a boost doing something that hasn’t been done in a long time,” Dodds said. “There’s a high level of belief right now within our group to know that we can compete with anyone in the country.”
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Not only are the Huskies going to be competing for a medal in Edmonton over the weekend, but they also have their spot at the 2025 U Sports Women’s Volleyball Championships secured, marking their first trip to the national tournament since they hosted in 2004.
They will be joining the Huskies men’s hockey and women’s basketball teams, which will also be going to nationals in the coming weeks.
“I think it’s awesome to have that pride around campus too,” Bergstrom said. “Everyone’s got their chins up and feeling pretty good. Packing both the gyms and arenas, it’s awesome to see the crowd.”
Huskies never say quit
That pride is spilling over to the men’s side of the volleyball court as well, with the Huskies men’s volleyball team knocking out the Trinity Western Spartans in Canada West quarter-final action on their home court.
After losing a five-set marathon to open the series in Saskatoon, the fourth-seeded Huskies managed to win back-to-back games to advance, which included a three-set sweep of the Spartans last Saturday.
“We played our best volleyball on the last day,” said Huskies men’s volleyball head coach Sean McKay. “Growing as the series went on, making sure we recovered well, fighting through some of the fatigue battles or injury battles. To see your team play their best ball of the series and maybe the year on that last day was very, very encouraging.”
It was shades of 2023 for the ‘Dogs,’ who also advanced to the Canada West Final Four tournament after dropping the opening game of their quarter-final matchup.
Now they’ll take on the host Winnipeg Wesmen, who finished first in the conference with a 17-3 record on the season.
The experience of going through two must-win games against Trinity Western will assist the Huskies, according to third-year left-side hitter Isaiah Mamer.
“I think it plays into us fairly well,” Mamer said. “It is always a little bit scary knowing that there isn’t really any cushion room or anything. You just got to go out there and play as hard as you can from the start.”
With either a win on Friday against Winnipeg or a victory Saturday in the bronze medal matchup, the Huskies would qualify for one of the conference’s three U Sports nationals berths.
One thing the Huskies do know is that they have their spot booked at the 2028 U Sports Men’s Volleyball Championships as the University of Saskatchewan was awarded the tournament as the host school earlier this week.
“For some of these guys to know that in the future we’re going to host one of the premier volleyball events in Canada I think is huge,” McKay said. “It’s great for the community, both volleyball and Saskatoon-wise. Hopefully we can get the business community involved, I know the alumni are super excited about it. It’s a little ways away, but it’s going to be a great event.”
With two opportunities to bring home conference medals through their men’s and women’s programs, it’s a weekend Dodds said has been years in the making for both Huskies teams.
“It’s turning into these two programs becoming pretty strong in Canada West,” Dodds said. “You see our fan support and the growth of club volleyball, it’s all just coming together where it feels really cool to be a part of.
“Let’s just ride the wave.”
Both the men’s and women’s semi-final games get underway at 5 p.m. on Friday, with medals being awarded Saturday in the gold and bronze medal games.
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