Queens continue to roll, sweep Trojans

The Red Deer College Queens Volleyball team have been on a roll lately, winning their past 9 matches in a row. Taking the match in 4 sets Friday in Calgary, the Queens looked solid and carried that strong play over into tonight's match against the SAIT Trojans at RDC.

The opening set was close in the early going (7-7) but the Queens started to pull away and won the set 25-17. Both Miranda Dawe and Jade Van Dyke had 5 kills for RDC. For the Queens, Megan Schmidt served the ball well and had 2 service aces in the 1st set. Samantha Overwater led the Trojans with 3 kills.

When the RDC Queens got up by 5 points in the 2nd set (13-8), SAIT's Head Coach Art O'Dwyer called a time-out in hopes of changing the momentum. The Queens continued to press forward and outscored the Trojans 12-7 to cap off a 25-15 victory. Ashley Fehr had a 2 set total of 28 assists for RDC. Veronica Headley accumulated 13 assists for SAIT over 2 sets.

SAIT took an early lead in the 3rd set (8-6) but RDC showed patience, persistence and battled back to take final set 25-22.

Ashley Fehr was named the Queens player-of-the-game. The Bachelor of Education student totalled 37 assists and 3 digs. 

Queens Head Coach Chris Wandler was pleased with the consistent play.

"There are no big ups and downs lately like we experienced in the 1st half. We've been talking about the same things consistently and the student-athletes are starting to believe in those things," said Wandler. "We are seeing the fruits of those little details that we are taking care of. We are gaining confidence, hope and are seeing that on the court. That inspires people to play well."

The middle blockers and passing game were sharp tonight.

"Our middle blockers were really good. That is one of our strengths, when we pass the ball well our middle blockers are really good around our setters and are able to do multiple things," said Wandler. "It's taken awhile to develop but we are seeing the rewards."

Wandler credited Lauren Marshall on her strong play.

"Everything centres around Lauren and we are giving her more responsibility," said Wandler. "We think that she can take some stress off people by taking more space on the court. That is always a good thing when your best passer is your libero and your best players are your best players."

The Queens Head Coach appreciates the student-athletes buying into the team concept.

"I'm very happy with how the team is coming together as a group. On and off the court and holding each other accountable. That's super important to develop as we go further along," said Wandler. "We are going in the right direction and with this week's break we will do some maintenance and recovery things and work on a few items. We are trending in the right direction."

With the victory, the RDC Queens (15-3) share top spot in the ACAC Women's Volleyball South Division with the Briercrest College Clippers (15-1). Both teams have 30 points. Tonight's win, made it 10 in a row for the Queens.

Next, the Red Deer College Queens host the Lethbridge College Kodiaks Friday, Feb. 3 at 6:00 p.m. Saturday at RDC, the same teams face each other at 1:00 p.m.