Olson and Queens drop Lions on Make Some Noise for Mental Health night

Brent Forster - RDC

Red Deer, AB – The Red Deer College Queens' outside hitters were firing on all cylinders. With tremendous kill numbers from the trio, along with a strong performance from middle McKenna Olson, the RDC Queens eventually downed the Lions in five sets (25-20, 24-26, 25-19, 24-26 and 15-10).

In an important weekend series, the Lions entered the match trailing the Queens by four points for second spot in the south standings.

"We did talk about how each team we play brings a different reason, or focus to play. For us, this is just another match that we have to get better at. For them, they can move up the standings," says Talbot Walton, Queens Head Coach.

"For the most part we followed our game plan pretty well. A couple sets, 24-26, could be the difference between a couple plays or one little lapse by us, otherwise we could have had that 3-0."

The Queens persisted and executed when it mattered the most.

"It should be a learning curve for us. To come back and win that fifth set convincingly, especially the second-half of that fifth-set, and we need that execution," says Walton. "That's that grittiness that we are looking for. They are starting to understand that they have the capacity to be an extremely defensive team and dig a ton of balls."

The home team recorded 56 digs.

Queens setter Emma Letkeman spread out the offence. The first-year stacked up 49 assists, 11 digs and two aces in the Queens' 13th consecutive win.

"Our outside hitters really delivered today. I think they had over 50 kills between the three of them which is a big total," says Walton. "If we can get 12 kills from outside hitters in each set, we are probably going to win and we were getting 15."

Holmes (11)

Red Deer's Emma Holmes led the RDC offence with 20 kills from the right, which included six kills in the first set alone. The second-year Bachelor of Kinesiology student added five digs and finished with a 0.533 hitting percentage.

Outside hitters Tess Pearman (16 kills) and Erin Neufeldt (15) combined for 31 kills.

Pearman (8)

McKenna Olson was named the Collegiate Sports Medicine Queens Player-of-the-Game. The five-foot-eleven middle had 11 kills, three digs, two stuffs and two aces.

Julia Kemper received the award for the Ambrose University Lions. The left side hitter totaled 19 kills, 18 digs, two stuff blocks and finished with a hitting percentage of 0.390.

Ambrose University's Madeline Williscroft chipped in with 14 kills. Jeena Johner had 13 and Willow Lewington racked up 12. Lions setter Sarah Janz contributed 31 assists, three kills, one ace and a dig.

On Saturday, Jan. 25, the second place Queens (13-2) will face the Lions (10-7) at 6:00 pm in Calgary.

Make Some Time and Make Some Noise For Mental Health

This past week RDC encouraged students, staff and faculty to talk about mental health and engage in activities through Make Some Time. Participants attended a variety of wellness activities on campus.

The Red Deer College campaign, Make Some Time, led into the RBC sponsored Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) initiative, Make Some Noise for Mental Health. RBC representatives were at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre, and along with giving away many prizes, they donated $1,000 for mental health initiatives.

Many learners have indicated they feel the pressure from finances. In turn, RDC Athletics will utilize those funds to help host a free financial literacy workshop in February for Red Deer College students.

Walton sees the value in the campaign.

"The whole awareness piece is amazing. We deal with a lot as a student and as a student-athlete and there's that added pressure of performance," he says. "We talk about it as a team. The resources that RDC has available for students and student-athletes is tremendous. To get that contribution from RBC means a lot."

RBC has been a long-time supporter of the College. They have provided significant funding to the College's Student Ambassadors Program, RDC scholarships and the Student Emergency Bursary.

"We want to make sure that we are supporting the community. The awareness is the key part of mental health," says Kelly Treleaven, Branch Manager of Gaetz and Piper North RBC Branch. "If we don't bring it to everyone's attention, it doesn't come out. We want to make sure we are part of that."