WINNIPEG, Man. – This Friday (Mar. 14) the University of Saskatchewan Huskie women’s volleyball team will officially return to the national stage for the first time since the 2004-05 season when they tke the court at the Investors Group Athletic Centre in Winnipeg to take on the UBC Thunderbirds in the U SPORTS Quarter-Finals.
HUSKIE WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
U SPORTS Championships | Quarter-Finals
Saskatchewan Huskies vs UBC Thunderbirds
Friday, March 13, 2025 | 9:00 PM
Investors Group Athletic Centre | Winnipeg, Man.
U SPORTS Championships | Semifinals
Saturday, March 14, 2025 | 7:00 PM
Investors Group Athletic Centre | Winnipeg, Man.
U SPORTS Championships | Gold Medal Match
Sunday, March 15, 2025 | 8:00 PM
Investors Group Athletic Centre | Winnipeg, Man.
CBCSports.ca (Stream) | HuskieFAN.ca | LiveStats
After meeting less than a week ago in the Canada West Final Four, the Huskies and Thunderbirds are set to face off once again, this time on the national stage in the U SPORTS Quarter-Finals.
Friday’s match will serve as just the second time in program history that Saskatchewan and UBC have met in the U SPORTS Championships, with the only other meeting coming over 40 years ago in the 1979-80 championships. That game saw the Huskies capture their second national title with a 3-1 victory in the championship game.
While this meeting does not have a national banner on the line, the stakes are just as high with the winner advancing to the U SPORTS semifinal and guaranteeing themselves the chance to play for a national medal.
Although their meeting a week ago saw the T-Birds take a straight-sets victory to advance to the Canada West championship match, the Huskies have been successful in bouncing back from losses in the 2025 postseason. In the opening round of conference playoffs, the Huskies suffered a 3-1, game two loss to the TWU Spartans before answering with a straight-sets, game three victory to take the series 2-1. The Dogs followed that up with another 3-0 elimination game victory over the top-seeded UFV Cascades on the road in the quarter-finals after suffering a sweep in game two.
In addition to their ability to bounce back going for them on Friday, the Huskies also match up well with UBC statistically. Saskatchewan averages just 0.8 fewer points per set but .65 more killer per set. The two teams have also had similar season hitting percentages (.237 to 2.16, 6th & 9th in U SPORTS) and blocking averages (2.14 to 2.09, 6th & 10th in U SPORTS). Where the Huskies have the most ground to make up is in their play from the service line, where UBC ranks 1st in the nation in aces per set (3.11) while the Dogs rank 20th (1.91).
Last week’s match saw the T-Birds earn a significant advantage in aces (8 to 2) and a slight one in blocks (8 to 6) while the two teams were nearly identical in kills (36 to 35).
The winner of Friday’s U SPORTS quarter-final will advance to take on the winner of the 3rd-seeded Manitoba Bisons and the 6th-seeded Saint Mary’s Huskies in the semifinals. On the opposite of the bracket, the top-seeded Alberta Pandas are set to take on the 8th-seeded Memorial Seahawks while the McMaster Marauders will take on the Montréal Carabins in a No. 4 vs No. 5 matchup.
2025 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship Seeding
1. Alberta Pandas (CW champions, 17-3 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)
2. UBC Thunderbirds (CW finalists, 15-5, 3-1)
3. Manitoba Bisons (hosts/CW bronze medallists, 16-4, 3-1)
4. McMaster Marauders (OUA champions, 14-6, 3-0)
5. Montréal Carabins (RSEQ champions, 19-2, 4-1)
6. Saint Mary’s Huskies (AUS champions, 14-6, 4-1)
7. Saskatchewan Huskies (CW fourth place/host berth, 10-10, 4-4)
8. Memorial Sea-Hawks (AUS finalists: 10-10, 2-3)
Team Stats (U SPORTS Rank)
| #1 ALB | #2 UBC | #3 MAN | #4 MAC | #5 MTL | #6 SMU | #7 SSK | #8 MEM | |
| PTS/S | 16.2 (9th) | 17.3 (1st) | 17.0 (T-3rd) | 15.6 (T-16th) | 15.6 (T-16th) | 15.0 (T-18th) | 16.5 (7th) | 14.3 (29th) |
| K/S | 12.13 (8th) | 12.00 (10th) | 13.14 (1st) | 11.83 (12th) | 11.15 (22nd) | 11.19 (21st) | 12.65 (3rd) | 10.40 (31st) |
| PCT | .267 (2nd) | .237 (6th) | .269 (1st) | .199 (16th) | .213 (10th) | .164 (T-28th) | .216 (9th) | .142 (33rd) |
| D/S | 11.63 (39th) | 12.14 (32nd) | 14.72 (9th) | 15.75 (6th) | 12.04 (33rd) | 15.89 (4th) | 13.31 (22nd) | 14.25 (15th) |
| B/S | 2.42 (2nd) | 2.14 (6th) | 1.97 (17th) | 1.81 (28th) | 2.11 (8th) | 1.94 (T-21st) | 2.09 (10th) | 1.71 (T-33rd) |
| SA/S | 1.68 (31st) | 3.11 (1st) | 1.89 (21st) | 1.92 (T-18th) | 2.35 (3rd) | 1.91 (20th) | 1.75 (26th) | 2.24 (T-4th) |
This article is shared as part of our Fair Dealing Policy. For the original article, please visit: https://huskies.usask.ca/news/2025/3/13/womens-volleyball-preview-huskies-battle-no-2-ubc-thunderbirds-in-national-quarter-final-clash.aspx
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