The defending champions didn’t want their season to end with a whimper, so instead, the Keyano Huskies let out a growl and swept the Lakeland Rustlers to earn a spot in the consolation final of the Murray Chevrolet Cadillac 2020 ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championships.

“It's always nice to beat a north division opponent we've seen a lot,” said Huskies coach Keegan Kuhr. “They're a good team, they're a scrappy defensive team and they play around their big middles pretty well. So it's nice for our guys to come out and respond and take care of business today.”

Despite the sweep, the win didn’t come easy for the Huskies as the Rustlers made each set close. In the opening set, ACAC north division rookie of the year Joao Cunha (first year, College Prep, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the Huskies with three kills from the left side, along with one block and an ace. Third year middle Don Campbell (third year, Open Studies, Beauval, Sask.) chipped in with two kills, one block, an ace and a tip.  

A competitive second set saw the Rustlers push the Huskies throughout, led by three kills from Matt Peck (fourth year, Business Administration, Montrose, Australia). In his return to southern Alberta, local product Cameron Visscher (third year, Education, Coaldale) led the Keyano attack with three kills in a 25-23 Huskies win.  

It was another close set in the third, but once again the Huskies found a way to close it out. Cunha led the way for Keyano with five kills, Athus Silva (first year, College Prep, Sao Paulo, Brazil) chipped in with four kills, while Trey Weinmeier (third year, University Studies, Edmonton, AB) had three kills and two aces in another 25-23 win that clinched the match and ended Lakeland’s season.

“I think they should be pretty proud of themselves as far as where they brought this program and the culture that they've changed,” said Rustlers head coach Taylor Dyer. “Almost all of them are coming back next year, so I think it's exciting. They’ve got a taste of what it feels like to play at the highest level at a conference championships, so, hopefully they're excited.”

Peck led the Rustlers with eight kills. Weinmeier had a team-high nine kills for Keyano who now face NAIT in the consolation final at 1 p.m. on Saturday.   

Players of the game:

Lakeland: Abner Jean Carlos Funez Raudales
Keyano: Trey Weinmeier