RDC Queens advance to semis
Queens 3 Rustlers 0
CALGARY — The RDC Queens swept past a game Lakeland Rustlers team from Lloydminster in the quarter-final of the Alberta Colleges Women’s Volleyball Championship on Friday.
Despite beating the ACAC North’s fourth place team 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 26-24) Queens coach Talbot Walton said the Rustlers were a tough first-round test.
“It was a really good first match for us, Lakeland was a solid team, they did a good job blocking, and you can tell by the scores that they weren’t what we would call an easy win,” said Walton. “They definitely pushed us. There’s stuff on the line and we had to execute and play well if we wanted to win.”
The Queens did their best to match the strong net play of the Rustlers and Mandy Norris rose to the occasion with five stuff blocks in the second set alone as Katie Graves and Jessica Clutton also played well offensively.
Their reward for beating Lakeland is a showdown with the Grande Prairie Wolves in the semifinal today at 6 p.m.
To reach the final Walton says they will have to find another gear.
“We have to build upon what we did today. Grande Prairie has a little bit different style than Lakeland, I think it’s a style we’re a little more used to and suited for, something very similar to what we see every day in practice. So we’re going to have to serve the ball well, we’re going to be in long rallies because Grande Prairie plays good defence, and we’re going to have make sure we’re patient in order to score points.”
l In other action, Grande Prairie beat SAIT 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20), MacEwan downed Medicine Hat 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-16), and Mount Royal stopped King’s 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-17).
Griffins 3 Kings 0
The Kings saw any hopes of winning the men’s volleyball championship and advancing to the national finals go down the drain with a 13-25, 20-25, 24-26 loss to the MacEwan Griffins in Grande Prairie Friday afternoon.
“It was ugly, right from the start,” said Kings head coach Aaron Schulha. “I thought we were well prepared. We watched a lot of video, both in Red Deer and here, but we weren’t there from the outset.
“They came out of the gate strong and blocked the first three or four balls and that seemed to set the tone for the rest of that first game and the match for that matter,” added Schulha. “It was tough to watch as a coaching staff as I’m not sure what else we could have done to prepare us.”
Despite the loss Schulha didn’t feel the Griffins were a vastly superior team.
“We matched up well against them, but it wasn’t the case today. They played well and we made the errors.”
The Kings had a chance to get back into the match in the third game, leading 21-18 before letting things slip away.
The Kings drop into the B side of the tournament with a fifth-place finish the best they can hope for.
“We’ll see what the guys are made of. We’ll see if they come back and at least win our last two matches.”
The Kings face Briercrest today at noon.
l In other action, Medicine Hat beat Briercrest 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 17-15) while SAIT edged Keyano 3-2 (22-25, 31-29, 27-29, 29-27, 15-13) and Mount Royal downed Grande Prairie 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-14).
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