Noah Opseth assists where he can on U of S Huskies volleyball squad

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Noah Opseth punches well above his weight.

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As the floor general for the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s volleyball squad — set to begin playoff action Thursday night in Saskatoon — Opseth is not only crafty, but he works incredibly hard to make up for any so-called athletic deficiencies.

Opseth may not be the most gifted setter around, but he certainly gets the job done.

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And more.

“He’s a super hard-worker,” says Huskies head coach Sean McKay, whose team hosts the Trinity Western Spartans in best-of-three Canada West quarterfinal playoff action Thursday, Friday and, if necessary, Saturday at the Physical Activity Complex.

“He’ll be the first to admit that he’s not as athletically gifted as other guys on the court, so that means he has to work really, really hard when he has the chance. He’s a good student, good leader, great friend to the guys, integral off the court and to our program as well.

“I really consider him a jack-of-all-trades. He adds to the program in many different ways, and puts us in a much better spot than if we didn’t have him.”

Game-time is 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, while Saturday’s game would be played at 3 p.m.

“I would say that I’m definitely not one of the most athletic guys — I’m probably the least athletic on the team — but there’s just that little bit of drive when you see other guys who jump higher or are taller than you,” says Opseth, a 6-foot-2 native of Birch Hills.

“Probably my drive is my strongest attribute.”

That drive shows up even at practice, where Opseth will find himself matched up against Huskie assistant coach Derek Epp, who has had experience with Canada’s national team program. Opseth does his best to keep up.

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“There’s just that little bit where you say, ‘I want to perform and show that I compete with that level as well,’ ” says Opseth, whose Huskies are in the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season.

“The last time we ended up hosting playoff games (2023) was the year we made nationals before, so we still have so many guys who were on the team back then. I think we’re all feeling pretty confident and very calm going into this weekend. We know what to do and, just like playing (TWU two weekends ago), knowing who they are, what  they do now, it gives us a better feel and grasp on how to play this weekend.”

Despite having two years of U Sports eligibility remaining, Opseth already ranks No. 2 all-time on the Huskies’ career assists list with 2,121.

“He’s still young in his career, so it’ll be interesting to see where he finishes off,” says McKay. “He’s still got two more years and, as a setter goes, that’s usually when you hone in and have your best years as you get a little more intelligent and comfortable out on the court. It’s tough to (rank) him with some of the older guys who have been around the program … I would say Noah’s probably really punching above his weight to even get considered in that conversation with some of the greats.

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“Just given how much he’s playing in his second, third and hopefully fourth and fifth years, he’ll have a great chance at setting some Huskie records.”

Opseth has gone from red-shirting for a year, to playing a handful of games, to  starting his last two years.

“It’s been nice to have the same group of guys with me to help me grow in my position,” he says.

Coach McKay says Opseth is able to set the ball into favourable spots.

“Good location, which is kind of the bare necessities of a setter — he’s putting the ball in a pretty good spot a high percentage of the time,” points out McKay.

“As a middle or younger-year setter, your decision-making is going to fluctuate. But he’s only getting better and better at that, isolating his hitters, putting them in a good spot. He is fairly creative, too, which (changes) the athleticism he has into something even better.

“His ability to locate and make good decisions is helping to propel our offence to one of the top in the country. So very, very integral to our success and probably doesn’t get kudos he deserves all the time.”

As for the stats?

“It’s really encouraging to see that the work I have been putting in has paid off,” Opseth admits. “The thing is, it’s a cool stat but it’s really a team stat where I can’t do it without my passers. It’s not really a stat I think about that much overall because, at the end of the day, I can’t do it without my team.”

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In the end, the only stat that matters is wins/losses.

dzary@postmedia.com

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