EDMONTON - In their first meaningful contest since capturing their 9th U SPORTS title in March, the Golden Bears Volleyball team was stunned in straight sets by the Saskatchewan Huskies at Saville Community Sports Centre. 

In front of nearly 1,500 fans, the Bears turned in a sloppy performance against a talented Huskies side, in their first 3-0 home loss since 2019. 

Levi Olson led Saskatchewan with 13 kills on just 24 swings, while Dylan Mortensen added 10 on 19 attempts. Noah Opseth finished with a game-high 28 assists, adding a team-high six digs. 

Middle Billy Johnstone led the Bears with seven kills, with both Jordan Canham and Isaac Heslinga scoring just five kills each. Alberta managed just 26 kills on 69 attempts, adding 17 service errors and 14 attacking errors. 

While never finding any sort of offensive flow or rhythm, the Bears best set was the first, finishing with 10 kills on 24 attemps. The Huskies, however, ripped home 13 in a set that was never further than three points apart. Three-straight Huskies kills secured a 25-22 win. 

The Bears offence really struggled in the second, as they mustered just seven kills on 25 attempts, adding six attacking errors. Olson led the Huskies with six kills himself in the second, with the visitors jumping ahead 2-0 with a 25-23 second set win. 

Alberta never found their confidence or stride, which showed in a sloppy and unenthusiastic third set. 10 more kills from the Huskies in the third clinched the straight sets win, which also snapped a seven-game win streak for Alberta over Saskatchewan. 

Alberta will raise their 2022 U SPORTS Championship banner to the rafters at Saville prior to their game against Saskatchewan at 5:00 pm tomorrow night.