Davis guides Queens' charge over Rattlers

Brent Forster – RDC

Red Deer, AB – On the strength of outstanding play and positive leadership from Britt Davis, the RDC Queens dispatched of the Medicine Hat College Rattlers in four sets (25-23, 14-25, 25-20 and 25-19) to claim both weekend matches.

After the first set was knotted up 10-10, the Queens went on a 6-2 run. During that flurry, Britt Davis pounded a pair of kills past the Rattlers' block and McKenna Olson recorded an ace to the back court to give their Queens a 16-12 advantage. The Rattlers tried to close the lead but Britt Davis capped off the set 25-23.

When Medicine Hat College took a 17-8 lead in the second, Chris Wandler substituted Erin Neufeldt onto the floor who made an immediate impact. The Bachelor of Science Nursing student recorded a stuff block on the next sequence. The Rattlers kept pressing and eventually sealed a 25-14 decision.

RDC setter Natalie Bloemen was given time to recharge in the third set and Brooke Smyth received some reps. The Bachelor of Education Elementary student connected with Britt Davis multiple times on the left, and along with some service pressure from McKenna Olson, RDC took a 12-9 lead. Later, Natalie Bloemen returned to the setter's role and found Alexandria Greenshields down the middle to give the Queens a 22-17 margin. RDC held onto that 5 point lead and earned a 25-20 victory.

Natalie Bloemen (5) Colby Brochu Photography

"It was an opportunity to give Natalie a rest and Brooke did a great job coming in, collecting some points," says Chris Wandler, Queens Head Coach.

The RDC Queens' strong blocking helped propel them up by 3 (9-6). The effective net play provided momentum. Jade Van Dyke gave RDC a 5 point edge (19-14) with a service ace and she finalized a 25-19 score with a left side kill.

Kaylee Domoney was named the Queens Player-of-the-Game and Shaya Suchy was recognized for the Rattlers. Libero Domoney was a key player, helping to set up the Queens' offensive attack and the third-year Business Administration student totaled 17 digs and 6 assists. Suchy had 17 digs and 2 assists.

Kaylee Domoney (3) Colby Brochu Photography

RDC's Britt Davis accumulated 15 kills, 4 digs and 2 assists in the victory while being a vocal leader.

"Britt knows that is part of her identity and we need that from her. She needs to not only give the technical and physical stuff but the emotional piece too," says Wandler. "It really keeps our team up to that level. All due credit to her."

Wandler liked the Queens' persistence. "It was different than last night's match. It was choppy at times and we played well through that choppiness to pull out some rallies and pull ahead," says Wandler. "In the second set, I thought we got too ahead of ourselves and the result was the 14 points. We got our stuff together and started to play more of our style of volleyball, and didn't let the Rattlers dictate it. It was a good job on our part, for sure."

In a collective effort at the setter position, Brooke Smyth contributed 6 assists and Natalie Bloemen had 31. As a team, the RDC Queens totaled 9 service aces. 

Next weekend, the RDC Queens (3-5) will play the Olds College Broncos (0-5) in a home-and-home series. On Friday, November 8 the two clubs will meet in Olds at 6:00 p.m. and then 24 hours later, the Queens will entertain the Broncos at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre.