Holmes and Kings take fifth set over visiting Clippers

Brent Forster – RDC

Red Deer, AB – The Red Deer College Kings were pushed to five sets by the visiting Briercrest College Clippers, but the Kings rose to the occasion when it mattered most, earning the victory (23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 20-25 and 15-9) which was their 11th in a row. 

"Briercrest did a better job of service pressure and extending rallies on us. At times, as the rallies extended we made mistakes late," says Kings Head Coach Aaron Schulha. "That said, when it really mattered I thought we did a good job in those extended rallies which is important. Winning a five setter and performing that way in the fifth is always nice. In all honesty, we could have won it in three. I was happy with the fifth and parts of the other piece."

The first set was even at 14 until the Clippers' Jordan Schnitzer broke the deadlock with a kill down the middle. Then, Kings' middle Mark DeWit found openings, picking up three points. In a back-and-forth finish, Briercrest College came on late, earning a close 25-23 decision. Regan Fathers led RDC with six kills. Bryton Codd and Karym Coleman had four each for Briercrest.

Regan Fathers (1) Colby Brochu Photography

The Clippers took a 6-2 edge in the second with a left side pound from Bryton Codd. The Kings responded with an 11-7 run to even the set 13-13. During that stretch, Regan Fathers and Mark DeWit recorded kills, and Fathers had a service ace. Then RDC gained momentum with the help of back-to-back kills from Ben Holmes on the left and the Kings jumped ahead by five (21-16). RDC went 4-1 to seal a 25-17 victory. Over both sets, setter Thomas Wass had 27 assists. Clippers' setter Caleb Schnitzer totaled 16.

After the Kings took an early 6-2 edge, the Clippers charged back to tie the third set 9-9. The two squads traded points until Kings' power hitter Ben Holmes made a tip at the net and Jonathan (JJ) Graham served up an ace (18-16). The Kings maintained their two point margin, capping off a 25-23 win. Over three sets, Briercrest's Mitchell Erickson had six digs, five kills and one assist.

Setter Thomas Wass (3) Colby Brochu Photography

An ace from Adam Turlejski pushed the Kings ahead 10-5 in the fourth but Briercrest persisted. With Bryton Codd at the service line, the Clippers went ahead 13-12 which sparked the visitors. The Clippers finalized a 25-20 decision.

Regan Fathers and Jonathan (JJ) Graham helped provide RDC with an 8-3 edge in the fifth. Outscoring the Clippers 7-6, the Kings earned a 15-9 victory.

"The numbers were reasonable - total kills (74), total assists (68), service aces (7) and all that kind of stuff. We handled them in those spots but they outblocked us. Blocking their system is difficult but we were not very good as a blocking group this weekend," says Schulha. "That is something that we will have to need to tighten up but we probably won't see a team that runs that type of speed. They are a much better team than a below 0.500 team and they are fighting for their playoff lives so we knew it'd be tough today. They did better receiving the ball and putting more pressure on their serve which put us in trouble at times."

Libero Isaiah Stime (5) Colby Brochu Photography

"Regan put up big numbers but he also made more errors than he did yesterday. The biggest positive is that Tom is really starting to dial some things in," says Schulha. "A few weak moments here and there, but to put up those assist numbers on the weekend is impressive, which means he is thinking the game at a high level, and is sharing the ball."

Regan Fathers had 27 kills, three digs and two aces. Thomas Wass recorded 55 assists, 11 digs, four kills and one ace.

Ben Holmes was chosen as the Kings Player-of-the-Game, contributing 17 kills, seven digs, two assists, one ace and one stuff block. Bryton Codd received the honour for the Clippers, accumulating 15 kills, nine digs, three assists and one stuff. 

"Holmes had a great match for us and we needed that," says Schulha. 

Colby Brochu Photography

Schulha was happy with the effort and ability to lock down the match in the fifth. "The guys have done a good job of dialing it in when the pressure was on and we talked about that leading into this weekend. From here on out, they are all meaningful matches," he says. "We will play tough opponents and our guys have to prepare like it's a win or go home championship type of feel for every match. If we do that, come championship time we will be in a good mindset. That's important moving forward."

Next weekend, the second place RDC Kings (14-4)  will face the Rattlers (8-9) in a pair of matches in Medicine Hat. The Rattlers will host the Kings on Friday, January 25 at 8:00 p.m.