Zak Rempel doesn’t want this weekend to be his last in a Saskatchewan Huskies uniform. The Huskies need to sweep their final regular season series and get some help in order to make the Canada West men’s volleyball playoffs.
No matter what happens, Rempel is glad to be along for the ride.
“I’m actually really happy that I did decide to come back and finish out my five years of eligibility. It was kind of just a stone unturned, and just happened to work out last minute,” Rempel said.
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The path to Senior Night has taken many twists and turns for the Saskatoon native. After high school he spent two years playing for the Medicine Hat College Rattlers in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) before joining the Huskies for two more.
Following the 2014-15 season Rempel moved to Toronto focus on playing beach volleyball, but the chance to return and play one final year with the Dogs proved too much to resist.
“It’s definitely been quite the journey. Not exactly what I would have planned if I was looking at like a five- or six-year plan but I definitely wouldn’t change anything about it,” he said.
Despite spending the bulk of his career as a setter, Rempel even switched positions to outside hitter in order to be part of the team.
“Zak’s a great guy, he’s a pleasure to coach and he’s grown a lot and he’s working hard and brings a good level of competition to our practices, so it’s been a lot of fun having him,” Huskies interim head coach Joel Dyck said.
For Rempel, it’s an opportunity to bring his volleyball career full circle.
“Guys like (fellow fifth-year) Tyler Epp, who I’ve played with since club volleyball, it’s nice that we can finish our fifth year seasons together, and it’s obviously nice just to come back and be a part of the Huskies family and really finish things how they should be,” he said.
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Rempel hopes that ending also includes one last run at a championship.
The Huskies need to sweep a pair of games against the 2-20 Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack and then their playoff fate will depend on the outcome of a series between the Mount Royal University Cougars and University of Winnipeg Wesmen.
If one team sweeps the other, the Huskies are in. If they split, Saskatchewan’s season comes to an end.
“If we can squeak into a spot, maybe go out and play against Manitoba or Trinity (Western). We’ve beat Trinity before and had Manitoba in a tight spot and unfortunately didn’t come out on top but it would definitely mean a lot to be able to make one good playoff push here in my last year,” Rempel said.
The Huskies and Wolfpack meet Friday at Ron and Jane Graham Centre Court at the PAC.
The women play at 1:30 p.m. CT and the men take the court at 3:30. The final home games for Rempel and his fellow seniors take place Saturday at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
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