Kings pushed by Broncos but earn five set home win

Brent Forster – RDC

Red Deer, AB – The Red Deer College Kings were pushed to the limit by the motivated Olds College Broncos, but they eventually finalized a home victory in five sets (25-19, 25-11, 21-25, 18-25 and 15-11).

The Broncos strode out to a two point margin in the early stages (7-5) of the first set. After the Kings evened it at 14, the RDC team went on a 7-2 run with the help of an ace from Regan Fathers (21-16). Thundersky Walkingbear led the charge for Olds College with four kills in the set. Jonathan (JJ) Graham picked up five kills from the left for the Kings, helping his side earn a 25-19 win.

JJ Graham (18) Colby Brochu Photography

Strong net play from the Kings played a significant role in the second set, making it difficult on the Broncos' offence. As a result, RDC opened 16-2. Both sides were even the remainder of the way (9-9) with the Kings sealing a 25-11 decision. Over two sets, Kings' middle Jace Martin recorded a total of four kills and Haiden Hurtig had a pair for the Broncos.

Regan Fathers (1) and Jace Martin (11) Colby Brochu Photography

After the teams were tied 10-10, Olds College started to pull away with some strong blocking of their own, at times putting up a triple block. The Broncos went on a 15-11 run to earn a 25-21 win.

The Broncos used that as momentum and downed the Kings 25-18 in the fourth set, evening the contest.

Olds College provided a test for the eighth ranked men's volleyball team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) but the Kings were able to capture the fifth set 15-11, earning the match victory which was their eighth in a row. 

Colby Brochu Photography

Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha credited the Broncos and their coaching staff. "You could tell from the get-go that Olds was a motivated team. They are well coached," he says. "Ryan (Marsden) will make a difference with both the men's and women's programs. He has some athletes on that men's team and that is kind of Ryan's mentality, is that they won't go away."

Schulha felt that some opportunities slipped away. "We had our chances midway through that third set and just went to sleep. In the fourth, they rolled us over. In the fifth, it was nice to see us come back a little bit. But up 11-7, we let them back in and they were riding the momentum so it was nice to get a win," he says. "They gave us all that we could handle but it was as ugly as it has been in a while on our side which is surprising to be honest. We had a good week of practice and played well at home against Ambrose last weekend, and played well most of the time in that tournament at Christmas, so hopefully it is just a one-off for whatever reason. Regan didn't look himself so that connection with Tom and Regan wasn't there."

Colby Brochu Photography

Jonathan (JJ) Graham was chosen as the Kings Player-of-the-Game, accumulating 14 kills, 11 digs, three aces, two assists and one stuff block. Jesse Stoddart received the honour for the Broncos, totaling nine digs, one assist and four kills. 

"It was nice to see JJ put up those type of numbers. He was a stabilizing force for us at times. Paul Mennie is an energy type guy for us so that is why we started him in the fifth, which worked out well for us, especially with him getting that last kill and a big block to put us up 14-11," says Schulha. "They were digging everything and passing great, and we kept separating and doing the same things expecting different results. I'm happy with the battle but it shouldn't have taken that long." 

In a rematch on Sunday, the RDC Kings (11-4) will compete against the Broncos (0-15) in Olds at 8:00 p.m.