BRANDON, Man. – It felt like a long time coming, but the result was well worth the wait.
 
The Bobcats played the team's first Canada West match at home in 637 days and sent Bobcat Nation home happy, beating the Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 12-25, 25-20) Friday night at the BU Healthy Living Centre..
 
The Bobcats wasted no time going right back to work, jumping to an early lead in the first set. Fifth-year outside Rayvn Wiebe was perfect in the first, putting up seven kills and no errors in the frame.
 
The team wasn't quite as efficient in the second, as the Bobcats had to battle back from a slight deficit but managed to squeak it out despite hitting .091 as a team.
 
The Huskies found their footing in the third, jumping to a convincing set win.
 
After trailing 15-11 in the fourth, the Bobcats rallied back by going on a 14-5 run to end the set and the match in front of a loud crowd of 748.
 
Wiebe finished with a match-high 21 kills to go with nine digs, while rookie outside Taryn Hannah was electric in her debut, putting up eight kills and 13 digs.
 
Caitlin Le was in mid-season form, as the fourth-year libero recorded a team-high 15 digs. Jamie Bain ran a smooth offence all night, contributing 36 assists to go with 12 digs and two blocks.
 
Emily Koshinky led the Huskies with 20 kills and 17 digs while Mandi Fraser finished with 13 kills.
 
The two teams meet again at the BU Healthy Living Centre to conclude the weekend series.
 
First serve is scheduled for 5 pm.