NAME: Huskiettes
UNIVERSITY: Saskatchewan
CATEGORY: Team
SPORT: Women’s Volleyball
YEARS ACTIVE: 1978-1981
HIGHLIGHTS:
Three consecutive CW and CIAU titles from 1979 to 1981
First team in Canadian WVB to win three national titles in a row
BIOGRAPHY:
The first national dynasty in Canadian university women's volleyball, the Saskatchewan Huskiettes dominated the competition during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Saskatchewan won three consecutive CIAU titles from 1979 to 1981, becoming the first team to achieve the feat. The U of S also won the Canada West championship each year from 1979 through 1981, becoming first of only three teams that has won both the Canada West and national title in three straight seasons.
With venerated coach Mark Tennant at the helm, the Huskiettes dynasty began during the 1978-79 season. After compiling a 9-3 regular season record, Saskatchewan defeated UBC 3-0 in the Canada West final. At nationals in Hamilton, Ont., the Huskiettes went 4-1 in the preliminary round and beat York 3-1 for their first CIAU gold medal.
A year later, the Huskiettes again beat UBC in the Canada West final, this time by a 3-1 score. The 1980 CIAU championship would prove particularly special, with the U of S serving as hosts. Before their home fans at Education Gym, the Huskiettes topped Ottawa 3-1 to capture the title. The 1979-80 team finished with a 21-1 record, as team members Dorothy Schwaiger, Melanie Sanford, Drora Epstein, and Gisele Rongve were named Canada West All-Stars, while Tennant received the CIAU Coach of the Year award for a second straight season.
The U of S completed its three-peat in 1981 by beating Manitoba 3-1 in the CIAU gold medal match at the University of Victoria, with Rongve being named championship tournament MVP. The Huskiettes compiled a 26-1 record for 1980-81.
All three Saskatchewan women’s volleyball championship teams have previously been enshrined in the University of Saskatchewan Hall of Fame, Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame, and Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame.
TEAM MEMBERS - Melanie Sanford, Donna Kenyon, Dorothy Jantzen, Dovona West (assistant coach), Sharon Purvis, Lori Zenuk (assistant coach) Joanne Mackay, Cindy Pischke, Sherri Sieffert, Cindy Crow, Sherry Saxton-Richards, Joyce Gamborg, Charlene Archibald, Dinah Guran, Grant Gudmundson (assistant coach), Sharon Anderson, Margaret Lockwood, Gisele Rongve, , Randy Gudmundson (assistant coach) Drora Epstein, Joyce Kerpan, Mark Tennant (head coach), Gail Tennant, Donna Zenuk, Colleen Pratt, Sandra Voitka, Kelly Stobbe, Don Smith (assistant coach), Nancy Baker.