HUSKIES WEEKLY PLAYOFF PREVIEW

WOMEN LOOKING TO CONTINUE HISTORIC SEASON

The Huskies (11-7, 4th in East) just capped off a historic season where they set a franchise record for wins and earned their first crossover home playoff match since the program was inaugurated in 2006-2007. They finished the season winning three of their final four matches to earn this opportunity, which included shutout victories over Georgian and Seneca. They will hope to keep this run going against the Mohawk Mountaineers (11-7, 5^th in East).

George Brown possesses a very balanced attack that is hard to predict. Beatriz Vilches, Ashley Lau, Alina Karpovnikova and Megi Memcaj are all averaging over 2.3 points per set. The key for the Huskies is using their offence to keep the Mountaineers off-balance and honest. When the women are firing on all cylinders, they are very tough to stop.

Mohawk (11-7, 5th in East) comes into the crossover match winning three of their last four to wrap up the season. A player the Huskies will be watching out for is Kaelyn Emslie. The second-year outside hitter is one of the most dominant players in the province. She ranked third in the OCAA with 3.26 kills per set and 3.9 points per set. It is easily seen that they feed her often as she sat first with 632 total attacks during the season. The Mountaineers also possess a solid defence averaging over 16 digs per set.

Reminder: seating at the event is on a first come first serve basis. Come to the match early to get the best seat possible.

MEN TRYING TO PULL OFF UPSET AGAINST NIAGARA

The men have the potential to take down the Niagara Knights (12-6, 3rd in West) on the road. They finished their season on a high note walking through the Seneca Sting at home. The Huskies are fully healthy and will rely on their various weapons to come away with the upset.

Since the ball dropped to make it 2020, Vivek Mathimakki has dominated. His points per set have improved from 3.17 in 2019 to 4.38 in the new year. Combine that will a healthy Yuseph Jackman, who averaged 3.1 points per set in the season, and George Brown clearly has a deadly combination. Then sprinkle in Stefane Vezina, Franstelle PeBenito, Sam Delgado and Avery Titus, and the men can compete with anyone in the province. They do need to be more consistent throughout the match though to have a chance on Saturday.

The Knights won their last four matches to end the season while only dropping one set in that span. Niagara has a couple of powerhouses in Samuel Otten and Elijah Bugiardini. Otten ranked fourth in the province in kills per set (3.75) and points per set (4.8) in the regular season. The outside hitter has registered four 20-plus point performances this campaign. Lined up adjacent to Otten is Bugiardini. The outside hitter sits just shy of the top 10 in the OCAA in kills per set (2.97) and points per set (3.7). George Brown will have their hands full with those two players.