Learning curve on display for young Griffins in straight-sets loss to veteran Saskatchewan team

EDMONTON — The MacEwan Griffins men's volleyball team just have to remind themselves — it's all part of the process.

With five rookies seeing significant minutes against the reigning U SPORTS bronze medallist Saskatchewan Huskies, the Griffins' inexperience showed as they fell in straight sets (25-13-25-19-25-15) on Saturday at the David Atkinson gym.

Brendon Lord led the Griffins with six kills, four digs and a block in the loss, while rookie Luigi Ehui recorded a career-high four kills, seeing extended action in two sets.

"I've said it a lot this year that (these games) become lessons only if we learn from them and become better, and I'm hoping that some of these moments stick," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski.

"I've told the guys, we can go two ways with this. This can motivate you and make you not want to have matches like this, or they can find it too hard and not want to put in the extra (work), and I told them which way I hope they want to go."

In Friday's match, the Griffins hung with the Huskies in their straight sets loss, but some untimely mistakes allowed Saskatchewan to earn each set victory.

In the rematch on Saturday, the Huskies came out with even more firepower and ran away with the first and third sets. 

Emmet Graham led Saskatchewan with 12 kills and three digs, while Isaiah Mamer and Aaron Elser chipped in with eight kills each. Elser also recorded  five aces in the victory.

The Huskies dominated the game from the service line recording 15 aces, compared to the Griffins three.

"They're a big physical team with a ton of experience. Their entire starting lineup, minus one guy, was on the floor in a national semi-final and bronze medal match, and that's a different level of volleyball," said Poplawski.

"Last night, I kind of said they won the game from the baseline, but today, they really did. Our passing numbers weren't there.

"We have three first years passing, and you talk about lessons, I can't even fault them."

Poplawski said what made the Huskies so dangerous from the service line was not only were they able to portray power and speed, they could mix in several off-speed serves, keeping the Griffins on their toes.

"It's a big difference, but the only way to get experience is by experiencing it, and with three first-years being our primary passers today, you hope they learn from it and long-term it hopefully pays off in their second and third years," said Poplawski.

"It can be painful in the moment and tough, but we're really hoping to learn from these things."

While the first and third sets were rough for MacEwan, their second set against the Huskies was solid, despite the set loss.

 Luigi Ehui provided a spark for the Griffins, getting four kills in two sets (Husain Dhooma photo).

Poplawski inserted Ehui into the game, and he immediately brought some energy.

He got back-to-back kills to start the set and give MacEwan a 2-0 lead, and he showed off his athleticism going up against the Huskies strong middles.

The Griffins held the lead through the majority of the first half of the second set, but a 6-1 by the Huskies gave them all the breathing room they needed to take the second set win.

"He's always providing energy, and you want to reward guys who have been putting in the work and doing the right things, and he came in and made some big plays and got other guys going, and I think that's why we made a push in that second set," said Poplawski.

"It was awesome to see him out there, and I told him after the game to see how far he's come… he was raw coming in, but to be able to hold his own at times against their middles was awesome to see."

HEAVY HEART FOR LORD: It was an emotional night for Griffins outside hitter Brendon Lord, who played on the two-year anniversary of the death of his former Thompson Rivers Wolfpack teammate Owyn McInnis from a fatal motor vehicle accident that also left teammates Riley Brinnen and Owen Waterhouse with life-altering injuries.

"I gave him a big hug after the game. I know today was a really challenging day for him. I know emotionally it was tough for him today," said Poplawski.

"I was impressed with him so much today. He gave the team everything he had, when I know his heart is so heavy."