The RDC Kings let a match slip away for the second straight night Saturday.
RDC won the third set handily 25-14 and looked in control before the Lethbridge College Kodiaks stole the fourth 25-22. In the fifth, the Kings faltered and lost their second five-set match in a row to the Kodiaks in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference volleyball play.
With the loss, the Kings fell to 0-2 on the season. Head coach Aaron Schulha said there were similar problems in both the RDC losses on the weekend.
“Too many errors. I think our outsides and maybe a bit out of our middles, we weren’t picking our best spots. I think Tom (Wass) set choices at times weren’t great. Especially late,” Schulha said.
“It’s a learning experience. Unfortunately, it puts us at 0-2. They’re a good team, they keep battling and you could see us tighten up again, later in sets and later in the match. That’s something we have to get over.”
Third-year Ben Holmes of Red Deer was a monster in the match for RDC. He had a match-high 22 kills, nine more than any player on either side. Schulha thought in the fifth set, Holmes could have been used better.
Fifth-year outside hitter Tristan Simmonds had 13 kills for RDC in the loss.
RDC only had three aces in five sets and also had 14 service errors, compared to just seven by the Kodiaks.
“There were a lot of areas we got exposed in this weekend. One of those is our depth. I thought we were better and deeper than what we showed this weekend,” Schulha said.
“I think it’s more some guys didn’t make the most of their opportunities. Tristan (Simmonds) is a guy we’re going to need down the line, that’s why we needed to ride him out (Saturday). I thought he did well on the attacking end, passing is still a work in progress… guys who have roles on this team didn’t fill them to the best of their abilities. It’s a long season and we have a lot to figure out.”
Fourth-year libero Isiah Stime was player of the game for RDC and finished the match with 11 digs.
The Kings are at Briercrest for a pair of matches against the Clippers next weekend.
Email sports tips to Byron Hackett
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