Box Score

First-year right side Andrew Nelson sparked the University of Regina's men's volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Saskatchewan on Thursday night in Canada West action at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.

Nelson led all players with 21 kills during the match, accounting for over two-fifths of the team's 50 kills in the victory. The rookie out of Campbell Collegiate in Regina also added a pair of digs and a big solo block as the Cougars improve their Canada West record to 1-2 on the season.

The turning point of the match might very well have come in the third set. After the two teams traded victories in the first two sets, Saskatchewan held a slim two-point lead just before the technical timeout. With Nelson serving, the Cougars reeled off six straight points to take a 20-16 lead and held off Saskatchewan for a 25-20 set win. At one point late in the third set, Nelson sparked the Cougars with three kills in the span of five plays.

The Cougars needed a comeback in the fourth set as well. Trailing 18-14, the Cougars scored 11 of the set's final 15 points and finally won it when a Paul Thompson attack went long.

Jamie Wilkins added 11 kills and a team-high eight digs for Regina, while setter Caleb Eschbach had 42 assists, seven digs, and three blocks.

Matthew Busse led Saskatchewan (0-3) with 14 kills, while Braden McLean had 11 kills and just one error on 20 attacks to lead all players with a .500 hitting percentage. Chris Gilbert had a match-high 12 digs for the Huskies and libero Jeffrey Grant chipped in with 10.

The two teams will now prepare for a rematch in Saskatoon on Saturday night.

NOTES: Nelson becomes the first Cougar rookie to put down at least 20 kills since match records are available dating back to the 2002-03 season.