Volleyball Kings begin new year on a winning note

At the RDC Main Gym, the ACAC Men's Volleyball South Division leading Red Deer College Kings were looking to continue where they left off in 2016. The Kings were rolling prior to the break, winners of 5 matches in a row. The Olds College Broncos were the opponent on a night that the Kings were looking to make it 6.

The RDC Kings took an early lead in the first set, never trailed and capped off a 25-11 win. Regan Fathers led the Kings with 6 kills and added 1 service ace. For RDC, Ryan Beatson totalled 9 assists and 2 kills. 

The second set was close in the early going (6-6) but then the Kings started to pull away (17-11). The Broncos tried to push back reducing the Kings lead by 4 points (21-17) but couldn't complete the rally. The RDC Kings eventually won the second set 25-19. Regan Fathers accumulated another 7 kills. Adding another 8 assists, Ryan Beatson had a 2 set total of 17 assists for RDC.

The Kings started the third set with a 3-1 lead and never trailed. RDC pushed their lead to 7 points (14-7) and eventually won the final set 25-14 to take the match in 3 straight sets.

Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha thought it was a decent start to the second half with a few key players out with injuries.

"It was not too bad of a start to the second half. It would have been nice to have a full roster available. Some guys are nursing some injuries and we didn't want them to rush back knowing we need to be at our best later in the season," said Schulha. "Adam (Turlejski) has a back issue that is running down into his leg so we are cautious with that. Luke (Brisbane) had a pulled quad late in the first half but he is close to returning. I think we'll have him back for practice by the middle of next week."

In preparation for the second half of the season, as a group the Kings discussed their progress so far this season.

"We had a team meeting Tuesday about where we were at with our goals for the year and where our level of play was, which wasn't nearly good enough," said Schulha. "We talked about making less selfish errors and being better teammates in general. That really came through."

Regan Fathers was chosen as the Kings player-of-the-game. The Kinesiology and Sport Studies student finished with 18 kills, 5 service aces and 1 dig.

Schulha was pleased the play of the Western Australia native.

"Regan in particular was outstanding. That was the best he's served," said Schulha. "He's worked hard over the break finding an approach that he's comfortable with. That was evident today with 5 aces. For Regan, the sky is the limit. His high end is pretty high."

With the victory, the RDC Kings extend their winning streak to 6 matches in a row and maintain first place in the ACAC Men's Volleyball South Division standings with 22 points. The Red Deer College Kings are ranked first in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA).

In a weekend rematch, the Olds College Broncos host the Kings Saturday, Jan. 7 at 8:00 p.m.