Volleyball Queens defeat SAIT in home opener

In a weekend rematch the Red Deer College Queens Volleyball team faced the SAIT Trojans but Saturday the venue shifted to the RDC Main Gym. The match was close with the Queens once again defeating the Trojans three sets to two.

The opening set began in similar fashion with the teams tied 7-7 and then RDC began to pull away eventually winning 25-17.

The Queens seemed to feed off the energy from the packed gymnasium early in second set, going on a 5-1 run. Miranda Dawe made two tough digs in a row to keep her Queens up 8-3. The Trojans called a time out when they trailed 10-3 in an attempt to halt the momentum but the Queens continued to push. Hanna Delemont capped off the set with three straight serves finalizing a 25-13 victory.

The Trojans took an early lead in the third set 6-4 and maintained an edge throughout. SAIT eventually won 25-18 but still trailed two sets to one. This set featured many lengthy rallies and solid defensive plays.

In the fourth set the Trojans led 13-11 but the Queens battled back tying the game on several occasions. The teams were even at 21 and 24. SAIT won 27-25 tying the match at two sets each.

The match headed to the fifth and final set. SAIT jumped out to a 6-3 lead but the Queens showed their resiliency. Jessica Jones served well late in the game and helped lead her Queens to a 16-14 win to take the match three sets to two.

Jones finished with eleven kills, three service aces and six digs.

Queens Head Coach Chris Wandler believes that playing in close matches will benefit the team.

"Winning these matches that are close will help us down the road," said Wandler. "When we play other strong teams such as the Briercrest Clippers we can think back to these moments and gain confidence knowing that we've been in tight matches before and have come out victorious."

Wandler noted one specific area where the Queens grew from yesterday.

"Today we made improvements in our passing game," said Wandler. "We were more consistent compared to last night in Calgary."

The Queens are undefeated on the young season (2-0) and head to Lethbridge next weekend to face the Kodiaks Oct. 21 and 22.