Box Score

Desiree Ates (pictured) and Michelle Sweeting both had 18 kills as the University of Regina's women's volleyball team continued its second-half surge with a four-set road victory at Saskatchewan on Friday night.

The two teams split the first two sets with Regina taking a 25-15 win in the first before Saskatchewan came back with a 25-18 win in the second, but the Cougars escaped to set points in the third and won 27-25 to go up 2-1 in the match. The fourth set saw Saskatchewan jump out to a 6-1 lead but it was all Cougars from there, as they responded immediately with six straight points of their own and clinched the match with a 25-17 win.

The Cougars have now won three consecutive matches to improve their conference record to 6-9 on the season and now sit just one win behind Alberta and Saskatchewan, who are both 7-8 and tied for sixth place in the Canada West standings.

Ates hit .297 and also led all players with 13 digs to notch the match's lone double-double in the win. Sweeting's 18 kills came on 28 attacks, giving her a match-high .500 hitting percentage to go along with four blocks. Leah Shevkenek added 41 assists and six digs, while Molly Wade-Cummings had a team-high five blocks.

Kayla Tycholiz led Saskatchewan with 12 kills and seven blocks.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday night (6:15, canadawest.tv). Another win for the Cougars would, at the very least, pull them into a tie for the seventh and final Canada West postseason berth.

NOTES: The Cougars have now defeated Saskatchewan 14 consecutive times in a streak that started back on Nov. 11, 2006 ... the U of R has also won 19 of its past 20 matches against the Huskies.