SASKATOON, Saskatchewan — The Brandon University Bobcats men's volleyball team left everything on the floor Friday night, battling the University of Saskatchewan Huskies through four tightly contested sets before falling 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 27-25, 25-17) at the Physical Activity Complex. The defeat brings an end to a season characterized by resilience for the Bobcats, as Saskatchewan takes the Canada West Play-In series.

After Saskatchewan utilized an aggressive service game to take the opening set 25-17, the Bobcats responded. Brandon capitalized on Huskie errors and tightened its defense to capture the second frame 25-22, evening the match and shifting the momentum.

The third set proved to be the defining stretch of the series. While the Bobcats had four match points, they could not close it out. The teams traded points in a thrilling back-and-forth battle that required extra points to decide. With the score tied late, Saskatchewan's Aaron Elser delivered back-to-back service aces to narrowly claim the set 27-25 for the Huskies. Saskatchewan used that late surge to fuel a 25-17 victory in the fourth set, securing the match and a ticket to the Canada West Quarterfinals.

Despite the result, the Bobcats received a massive performance from Liam Kindle, who paced the Brandon offense with a team-high 16 kills and 18 total points. Thomas Friesen provided a strong secondary scoring option by hammering down nine kills. Setter Kale Fisher was the engine of the Bobcat attack, distributing 37 assists while adding two solo blocks. In the middle, Riley Brunet was incredibly efficient, recording four kills on a blistering .800 hitting percentage to go along with a service ace and a solo block. Matthew Siebenga also chipped in with four kills and a pair of service aces.

Saskatchewan was led by Isaiah Mamer, who recorded 16 kills, and Emmett Graham, who contributed 12 kills to the winning effort. Setter Noah Opseth finished with 45 assists as the Huskies hit .257 as a team to advance.

While the playoff run ends here, the Bobcats hit .222 as a team and consistently pushed a talented Huskies squad, extending key rallies throughout the evening and showing incredible promise and fight for the future of the program.