Kings defeat Lions in three straight sets

In the second game of a two game set, the Red Deer College Kings Volleyball team competed against the Ambrose University Lions at RDC. While the location changed from Friday, the result was the same with the RDC Kings winning in 3 straight sets.

The Kings won the first set 25-13. Parker Biletsky finished with 3 kills and 1 service ace.

The second set was close and was tied 16-16 but the Kings pulled away for the 25-22 victory. Regan Fathers had a two set total of 9 kills, 1 block, 1 dig and 1 service ace.

Not much separated the two teams in the third set. The Kings and Lions were tied 7-7, 10-10 and 16-16. The Kings went on a 9-3 run to cap off a 25-19 victory. 

Luke Brisbane was chosen as the Kings player-of-the-game. The Bachelor of Commerce student accumulated 28 assists, 2 digs, 1 service ace and 2 kills. 

Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha liked the start of the match but saw some inconsistencies later.

"In the first half of the match we played pretty," said Schulha. "We let them back in the second and the third set was kind of sloppy."

Despite sweeping the Lions last night, the Kings wanted to improve their blocking.

"Our blocking looked pretty much the same as last night. A lot of balls were just squeaking through. There are a lot of guys that are hitting just above the tape so we need to just get our hands over," said Schulha.  "Those are things that we've discussed but will have to do a lot more work on it in the next few weeks. It will be a continuous thing but I know the weapons are there. It's just a matter of us thinking the game better on a more consistent basis. We will do a lot of video on ourselves and perhaps national teams to get our guys thinking critically because the thinking piece is not optimal right now." 

Schulha reflected on the first half of the volleyball season.

"Finishing with a 10-2 record is okay. I think a lot of this first semester was grinding through matches and that's good," said Schulha. "We have to learn to win when we are not at our best and we did a lot of that. That means there is room for growth which excites me going into the second half of the season."

The Kings have a balanced approach for their break from the ACAC schedule until 2017.

"We go to the University of Calgary to train with the U of C Dinos. We will train here a day or two before we train against very good competition," said Schulha. "We will stay closer to home this year but it will be good with the extended break to get into the weight room, refocus mentally, get a bit of a rest and get back to work in the second half."

Friday, Jan. 6 at 8:00 p.m. the Kings will host the Olds College Broncos at Red Deer College.