Turns out the pair of weekend losses to Briercrest earlier this month was the wakeup call the Red Deer College Queens volleyball team needed.
Fresh off a Friday night straight sets victory over the visiting Lethbridge College Kodiaks, the Queens completed the sweep Saturday afternoon with a three set win (25-13, 25-19, 25-19).
Queens head coach Chris Wandler pointed to the two road losses to Briercrest, on Jan. 19 and 20, as a turning point at this part of their season.
“It told us we were right there, but we had a couple of things to clean up this week and we did that,” said Wandler. “Hopefully we can use that going forward.”
Last night, the Queens cruised to a three set victory over the Kodiaks (25-15, 25-11, 25-15).
“I thought it was a good continuation from last night,” said Wandler. “Our serves led the way with 14 aces. We haven’t served the ball that well all season, so it was good to get that on track.
“We’ve been working on that all season, trying to find that right tempo and speed. Putting some teams in distress and really helping us out.”
Leading the way for the Queens was Miranda Dawe, who’s 15 kills and 10 digs led the team in both categories. Katrina Dawe and McKenna Barthel tied for second on the team with seven kills each.
“It didn’t look like 15, it was balanced,” said Wandler. “It didn’t look like she had so much volume, Chanelle Kayser did a really good job of setting up the group.”
Setting up the plays all game long was Kayser who had a game leading 31 assists. For the Kodiaks, Kristine Ward led the team with 10 kills.
The win lifts the Queens record to 15-5, sitting in second place in the Alberta College Athletic Conference South Division behind Briercrest.
The team heads into a bye week this weekend where Wandler said they will have the chance to rest their players and help them work through nagging injuries.
The Queens return to the court Feb. 8 against Ambrose University in Calgary. They’re back on home turf Feb. 10 to take on Ambrose in the second half of a home-and-home series. The match starts at 6 p.m.
mcrawford@reddeeradvocate.com
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