Kings and Kodiaks go the distance again at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre

Brent Forster - RDC

Red Deer, AB – Saturday afternoon's rematch between the RDC Kings and Lethbridge College Kodiaks had several similarities to the game on Friday. In another close match at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, the Kings captured a two set to one lead (25 - 19, 21 - 25 and 25 - 14) and then the Kodiaks took the final two sets (25 - 22 and 15 - 11) to earn back-to-back wins. 

Ben Holmes was one of the Kings' offensive weapons, recording 22 kills. The Bachelor of Arts student added 3 digs and 2 stuff blocks. Tristan Simmonds totaled 13 kills and Steven Keating had 9 for RDC.

Ben Holmes (Colby Brochu Photography)

Similarly to Friday, Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha saw too many missed opportunities. "There were too many errors. Our outsides in particular, and maybe a little bit out of our middles, we weren't picking our best spots. The set choices at times weren't great, especially late, but it's a learning experience and unfortunately puts us at 0 - 2," he says. "They are a good team and keep battling. You could see us tighten up again later in sets, and later in the match, and that is something that we have to get over. Like I said yesterday, Regan Fathers and Adam Turlejski make a big difference in terms of that stability piece and fifth-year guys that want the ball, but if we are not passing the ball then those guys don't matter quite as much either."

The weekend provided several learning opportunities. "There are a lot of different areas that were exposed this weekend, I would say. One of those is our depth. I thought, quite frankly, that we were better and deeper than what we showed this weekend," says Schulha. "I think that some guys didn't make the most of their opportunities. Guys that have roles on this team didn't fill them to the best of their abilities. It is a long season and we have a lot of things to figure out." 

Libero Isaiah Stime was rewarded for his strong play with the Kings Player-of-the-Game award. The Kinesiology student from Sherwood Park had 11 digs.

Isaiah Stime (Photo - Tony Hansen)

"Isaiah had a good weekend. He seemed to dig everything that came his way both days. He's going to have to be steady for us as a fourth-year libero," says Schulha. "We have two really good liberos. Chris (Petersen) may see some time there and can see some time as a serving sub, and across the back. It's a nice luxury to have. Both guys want to, and probably deserve to be on the floor."

Video - First-year Jace Martin (11) had 5 kills, 1 dig and 5 stuff blocks

Setter Cole Mack earned the award for the Kodiaks, picking up 37 assists, 5 digs, 2 stuff blocks and 3 kills.

The RDC Kings (0 - 2) will play a pair of matches in Saskatchewan next weekend against the Briercrest College Clippers (0 - 2). The teams will compete on Friday, October 19 at 8:00 p.m. Then on Saturday afternoon, the rematch will take place at 3:00 p.m.