RDC Queens win in straight sets over Ambrose Lions, remain in 1st

Last night in Calgary, the Ambrose University Lions pushed the Red Deer College Queens Volleyball team to the limit. The Queens persevered and eventually won in the 5th set. This pushed RDC's win streak to 7 matches in a row. Tonight, the Queens weren't tested as much and won in 3 straight sets.

The RDC Queens carried over their momentum built from the victory yesterday and won the 1st set 25-16. Both, Miranda Dawe and McKenna Barthel had 4 kills for RDC. For the Queens, Ashley Fehr accumulated 7 assists and 2 digs in the set.

In the 2nd set, RDC took an early lead and never relented. The Queens went on several runs and capped off the set 25-14. Megan Schmidt had a total of 6 kills. As a team, the RDC Queens earned 5 service aces over 2 sets.

The 3rd set was close in the early going (4-4) but then the RDC Queens began to pull away 15-10. Eventually, the Queens won 25-20 and swept the Lions in straight sets.

McKenna Barthel was chosen as the Queens player-of-the-game. The Business Administration student finished with 7 kills, 1 assist, 2 service aces and 3 blocks.

Queens Head Coach Chris Wandler was happy with the result but noticed some complacency, especially late.

"We were a little casual in the 3rd set with what we were trying to accomplish. We were nonchalant with our hand contact and our passing was okay," said Wandler. "We will get that settled around. The good thing is that we got it done."

The RDC Queens finished with 8 service aces in the rematch.

"Our serving was alright tonight," said Wandler. "We were working on better hand contact which enables us to serve a little bit better but there were some uncharacteristic things that we did."

Despite the victory, Wandler is using this game as a teachable moment.

"We were just a little bit better than them tonight. We talked about being composed and tonight our body language got a little bit casual," said Wandler. "It wasn't as crisp as I hoped but it is a coachable opportunity."

With the victory, the RDC Queens (13-3) extend their winning streak to 8 matches in a row and remain tied for 1st place in the ACAC Women's Volleyball South Division with 26 points.

In Calgary, the Queens face the SAIT Trojans Friday, Jan. 20 at 6:00 p.m. In the 2nd half of the home-and-home series, the RDC Queens host the Trojans 24 hours later.