Trojans over understaffed Kings in another close match

Saturday at Red Deer College, the shorthanded Kings faced the SAIT Trojans in a weekend rematch. Key student-athletes, Luke Brisbane, Adam Turlejski and Matthew Lofgren were out of the RDC lineup due to injuries. The Kings showed heart, pushed the Trojans to a 5th set but SAIT won the match.

In the 1st set, the Trojans went up by 5 points (19-14) but the Kings battled back to tie it 24-24. SAIT eventually pulled ahead and won 28-26. Regan Fathers led RDC with 5 kills. For SAIT, Trent Mounter had 5 kills. 

SAIT jumped out to an early lead in the 2nd set and with effective blocking eventually won 25-16. For RDC, Brian Grenier had a 2 set total of 5 kills. Over both sets, Trent Mounter and Spencer Coulter had 6 kills each for SAIT.

The Kings were down 3 points early (4-7) but showed determination and eventually won the 3rd set 25-21. Regan Fathers accumulated a 3 set total of 10 kills. For SAIT, Trent Mounter had a total of 13 kills.

As expected, the 4th set was another close one. Once the RDC Kings took a lead, they never gave it up and won 25-22. Ryan Beatson had a 4 set total of 33 assists for the Kings. For the Trojans, Nathan Goss contributed 43 assists.

In the 5th set, the teams were tied on several occasions (3-3, 7-7) but the Trojans eventually pulled ahead, won 15-11 and picked up the match victory. Regan Fathers led the Kings with a match total of 18 kills. Trent Mounter totalled 19 kills for the Trojans.

Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha appreciated the rally attempt with a shorthanded lineup but would like to see improved decision making.

"It was very similar to yesterday. We worked our way back into the match and then kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the 5th set. SAIT is a very good team and they had all their horses moving in the right direction. We are very understaffed at the moment and tried a new lineup. It looked okay with Parker (Biletsky) on the right and Regan (Fathers) on the left. It might be something that we mix around a little bit from here on out," said Schulha. "It is a matter of getting healthy. The good news is that we saw what Tristan (Dexter) and Parker (Biletsky) can do. We have a better idea of what certain guys are capable of doing if we need subs down the road. We have a lot of fight in us. It is a matter of making smart decisions at key times." 

The Kings are hoping for improved health and a full lineup soon.

"Adam (Turlejski) still has numbness in his leg so we are waiting until the numbness subsides," said Schulha. "Luke (Brisbane) is about a week away from training and we need him 100% healthy. We need to focus on getting better, moving forward and winning as much as we can."

Tristan Dexter was named the Kings player-of-the-game. The Kinesiology and Sport Studies student finished with 12 kills, 3 assists, 2 service aces, 4 digs and 1 stuff block.

The Red Deer College Kings (14-4) continue to lead the ACAC Men's Volleyball South Division with 28 points.

Next, the RDC Kings host the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Friday, Feb. 3 at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, the same 2 teams compete at 3:00 p.m. in the RDC Main Gym.