Queens 3 Rattlers 0
The RDC Queens did what they had to do against the Medicine Hat Rattlers in Alberta Colleges Women’s Volleyball League play at RDC Saturday afternoon, but that didn’t mean head coach Talbot Walton had to be happy.
“I was a little disappointed,” he said following the 25-22, 25-21, 25-18 victory.
“We talked before the match about strategy and what we had to work on and it was all based on executing and for the most part we didn’t do that. We lacked individual motivation and didn’t play at an adequate level.”
The Queens did have a tougher battle than they did in a 3-0 win over the Rattlers Friday, but part of that was because Medicine Hat played better as well.
“They served a lot better and their hitters were doing a good job,” said Walton. “But then we didn’t adjust that well either, which made it easier for them.”
Still the Queens were the better team as the statistics indicated.
The Queens finished with 37 kills, seven stuff blocks, six aces and 52 digs while the Rattlers had 28 kills, six blocks, four aces and 44 digs. Jessica Clutton led the Queens with 11 kills and six digs while Jaclyn Neufeld added 10 kills and five digs and Robyn Denny came on late in the second set and finished with seven kills, four digs and two blocks.
“She’s a strong power hitter and she’s still learning our systems,” said Walton referring to Denny, who played with Keyano College last season.
Tarah Truant finished with 17 digs for the Queens while Megan Nagy had 10 kills and eight digs for Medicine Hat.
The win left the Queens with a 4-0 record while MHC dropped to 2-2.
Kings 3 Rattlers 1
The Kings were also pushed by the Rattlers in their 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 25-22 victory.
“It wasn’t pretty and Medicine Hat did a good job of pushing us, which we expected,” said Kings head coach Aaron Schulha. “But we needed a game like that . . . It was a real test of our mental toughness.”
But the Kings also gave some points away.
“We didn’t serve that well and look after our side, which gave them some free points. Still it was nice to see that we had to battle to come out on top. We know we’ll get that down the road.”
Taylor Hunt led the Kings with 10 kills and three blocks while Darren Dornstauder was named the Kings player of the game with eight kills, three digs, two aces and one block.
The RDC teams face SAIT in a home-and-home next weekend — Friday in Calgary and Saturday at RDC.
drode@www.reddeeradvocate.com