Both the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens find themselves on winning streaks heading into the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association holiday break.
The Queens swept the NAIT Ooks in three sets (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) on Saturday at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, while the Kings need five sets 22-25, 28-30, 25-23, 31-29, 17-15) to overcome the Ooks and remain undefeated on the year.
The Queens fifth match win in a row over the Ooks came in part thanks to a strong performance from outside hitter Lauren Junck. The third-year had a match-high 10 kills, along with an ace. Fellow outside Rachel Perry had eight kills, but added three aces and a stuff block for the Queens. Setter Maria Brouwer had 23 assists in the victory.
The Kings picked up their ninth win of the first half in a thriller against the Ooks. NAIT won the first set by three points, the only set that was not decided by two points. NAIT won the second set 30-28, before the Kings bounced back in the third with a 25-23 win, followed by a 31-29 win in the fourth. In the fifth, the Kings pulled out a 17-15 win to secure the match.
Colby Nemeth led the way for the Kings with 18 kills in the match, including a match-high six aces. Nic Possingham and Brett Lower also each had nine kills in the victory. Kings Setter Drew Dykstra had 29 assists in the win, while Brett Theise had 20.
NAIT's Joel Nickel had a match-high 21 kills in the win. Ooks setter Mason Gorski had 54 assists in the loss.
On the hardcourt, the Queens also earned a 66-50 win over the Ooks in Edmonton Saturday. Rachel Harvey led the way for RDP with 23 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and one assist. Millie Cracknell had 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals and one assist in the win.
The Queens have won three games in a row and are 7-2 on the year, good for second in the ACAC South.
The Kings fell 92-73 to the Ooks. José Mauro Barrozo Júnior led the way for RDP with 16 points and nine rebounds. Samuel Idemudia chipped in 11 points off the bench, the only other RDP player in double figures. The Kings shot 52 per cent from the field, 40 per cent from three and they were 92.9 per cent from the free throw line.
The Kings are 5-4 on the year and sit third in the ACAC South.
On the ice, both the Kings and Queens earned wins.
The Kings knocked off Portage College 5-2 at home in an afternoon matchup. Clay Sleeva notched a pair of goals for the Kings, while Nathan DeGraves, Alex Bernauer and Ryland McNinch added goals. RDP sits third in the ACAC standings with a 7-5 record.
The Queens topped Central Alberta rival Olds College Broncos 4-2 Saturday. RDP opened the scoring, with a goal from Jailyn Bablitz. Klara Mattey tied the game for Olds at 10:15 of the frame, before Emily Hourie scored her first career ACAC goal at 11:43 on the power play. Ava Dalebozik scored for the Broncs 1:23 later to tie the game at two.
Camryn Ward scored the eventual game-winner at 11:20 of the third, and Bablitz added an insurance marker as her second of the game on the power play with 4:07 left in the game. Chole Belter had two assists for RDP, while Izzy Palumbo made 23 saves to earn the victory. Lacy Friesen stopped 34 shots in the loss for Olds.
ACAC action resumes Jan. 10.
