Men's volleyball in a top-six position: Men's volleyball aim to leapfrog Saskatchewan during key weekend set

Fresh off a weekend sweep of Mount Royal to open the second half of their season, Manitoba will aim for more this weekend as they host the 7-7 Saskatchewan Huskies in a key battle for playoff positioning. Game times are 6 and 4 pm on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Click here for tickets. 

Both teams enter play in a quarterfinal spot, with the Huskies just two points ahead of the 6-6 Bisons for fifth. The Herd leapfrogged over MRU and into a quarterfinal position after their sweep of the Cougars, showcasing a versatile attack. Setter Sammy Ludwig tied his career high with 51 assists in Friday's win, distributing the ball brilliantly to one of the deepest rosters in the country. Overall, five different Bisons finished in double digits in kills for the Herd during the two-game set. 

One of the keys to success was Ludwig's ability to generate offence through veteran middles Jordon Heppner and Jonah Dueck. The pair combined for 36 kills over two games with just one error per contest while hitting a combined .572. Heppner's hitting percentage of .435 is second in Canada West, and his ten kills on Friday tied for a career high.

Meanwhile, Dueck's 12 kills on Friday were a career-high, as were his 16.5 total points. The Rosenort Boogeyman's 17 kills overall against MRU were also the most in a two-game set in his Bisons career. 

Continuing with the middles, Heppner and Dueck also continue to climb up the rally scoring era program record board for career blocks.

With 11 assisted blocks last weekend -- seven on Friday to tie a season-best -- Dueck moved into a tie with Brendan Warren for fourth in the category in the regular season, with 291. He needs just nine the rest of the way to become only the fourth Bison in the rally scoring era to amass 300 in his career in the regular season. Dueck is also third in Canada West, with 1.19 blocks per set.

Heppner is currently seventh in career regular season blocks, with 278, but he only needs one to reach 300 overall as a Bison. With three aces against MRU, Heppner also tied Josh Klassen for second in the rally scoring era with 102 career regular season aces. The school record is currently held by "The Herricane" Luke Herr. The former Bisons setter established the record of 127 in the 2016-17 season. 

Outside hitters Kai Boyko, Eric Ogaranko and Owen Weekes were the other three Bisons who had double-digit kills last weekend. Boyko recorded a season-best 11 in Friday's win, while Ogaranko became the second UM hitter to go over 100 total kills on the season, with 14 combined against MRU. Weekes leads Manitoba with 136 kills on the year. 

Defensively, senior libero Josh Jehle has 97 digs on the campaign, fifth in Canada West. The respect his opponents have for him in the back row was clear last Friday, as the Cougars intentionally hit away from the mature defensive specialist in the fourth set. Jehle has 573 career regular season digs for the Herd, which is second all-time in the rally scoring era for the program. 

Looking to the other side of the net, the Huskies are sure to send plenty of attempts to right side Emmett Graham. The savvy right side leads the team with 164 kills, which is third in Canada West, while his 4.21 kills per set rank second. The well-balanced Huskies have three other hitters with over 100 kills overall, in Isaiah Mamer (154), Aaron Elser (118) and Mathieu Methot (103). 

Methot's hitting percentage of .424 is just behind Heppner for second in Canada West, setting up what should be a fun battle at the net between the middles from both sides. Jacob Baird has added a team-leading 49 blocks at the middle position for the Huskies, while Dueck and Heppner are second and third in the conference in total blocks, with 57 and 53.