The Queens bounce back after two losses with win against the Kodiaks

Red Deer, November 25 - The Red Deer Polytechnic Queens will be looking to bounce back after a very tough weekend last week in northern Alberta. The Queens fell six straight to the Keyano College Huskies and then the Lakeland College Rustlers the next day. For the Lethbridge College Kodiaks, they are coming off a bye week but the week before that they would fall short in five sets to the nationally ranked The Kings University Eagles before defeating the Concordia University Thunder in five sets.

In a very tight set, the Queens and Kodiaks would feature a very long rally in the middle of the game before outside-hitter Jaiden Ferguson (Business Administration) put it away for her team to tie it up at 11. Both teams were coming out of the gate fast and putting their best foot forward in what was going to be a very tight match with two points separating each other near the top of the South Division.

The Queens would call the first timeout after the visiting Kodiaks would pull away with a three-point lead. An even longer rally happened later on with Queens libero Frankie Sandini (Justice Studies) keeping her team in the match with four outstanding digs which ended with RDP getting the point. The Queens would pull through to take the first set 25-22 after Sandini pulled off another diving dig near the end line to keep her team in the rally and clinch the set.

The Queens were very excited for Santini to join the team this year and filled a big hole as both liberos last year graduated from the program.

"We knew coming in that she was a very competitive player. She expects a lot from herself and has that eagerness to defend on every ball. When you got that kind of package and someone whose willing to go crazy on every ball defensively then she gives herself the best chance to dig up the ball and continue the rally for her team."

Early on it was the Queens who were playing their best game as the Kodiaks struggled to get their offence going and would call the first timeout of the second time after falling behind 10-5. In another long rally, it was the Kodiaks who would persevere and win it with a tip that could not be returned by the Queens. Lethbridge College still was down 13-9. The home team would extend their lead to seven forcing Head Coach Anna Schwark to call her final timeout of the set to try and pump her team up for a comeback.  Outside-hitter Lauren Junck (Bachelor of Psychology) would kill it for the set and put her team up 2-0 going into a do-or-die situation for the Kodiaks.

Lethbridge College would bounce back in the third set and make it a much closer game then the second set made it seem. Outside-hitter Jamie Brown had an impressive set with multiple kills and even a one-handed block. In the same rally, she would help her team to a two-point lead and would get another kill to her total tally. On the year, she averages 3.50 kills per set and sits second in this category in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC). Brown is also in third place in the conference with a total of 91 kills.

Her team would take their biggest lead of the match, 20-16, going into Head Coach Talbot Walton's first timeout of the set. Later on, on match point for the Kodiaks, Brown and her squad put on quite the digging show but could not finish it off leading to a 24-24 tie. It was the Lethbridge College women's team that would come away with a 28-26 set victory after a kill error by the Queens gave the visiting team the set point.

In a set that was so close, it was going to be the team that committed the least number of errors that would come out on top. Both teams were playing a very strong set, but it was the Queens, who would take the early lead in the set into the Kodiaks first timeout of the set. The Kodiaks came out of the timeout with some energy and would get the point after another impressive kill by Brown on the left-side. The Queens were given the chance to swing for the match and Ferguson would finish it with a kill on the outside to take the final set 25-21.

Head Coach Talbot Walton says his team was thankful to finally be back on their home court as all the travelling they have done this semester was disruptive to their preparation for game weekends. But explained his girls came out and played a very high-level game of volleyball.

"Tonight, we were able to get into our game, our offensive set sooner and allowed us to be comfortable with the way that we defended. We served well and were able to extend rallies. The Queens scored very well. We had averaged about 14 kills per set which is kind of what we are shooting for."

The players of the game went to Jamie Brown from the Kodiaks, who had 17 kills and 16 digs. For the home Queens, it was Frankie Santini who was awarded the honour, who made a countless amount of desperation digs to keep her team in the set.

These two teams will face off again tomorrow at 1 pm in Red Deer in what hopes to be another thrilling match