Rattlers Bite Back and Split Weekend with Kings

In a 5 set thriller the night before, the Red Deer College Kings returned to the Snake Pit in an attempt to sweep the weekend over the Medicine Hat College Rattlers. The Rattlers hoped for a different result than the night previous after they lost a 2-0 set lead. The first set opened with the teams trading points on the first two of the game. Both teams made mistakes early giving away opportunities, but the score remained tight early. neither team able to breakthrough with momentum, the game was minimizing your own errors to maximize points. the Rattlers held the tiniest of leads 9-7 as the set moved into the middle stages. The Rattlers extended their lead again opening up a 12-8 lead and forcing the reeling Kings to take a timeout.  The Kings used this break to their advantage to get a quick side-out, only to be answered by the Rattlers. Back and forth the Set continued as the score climbed slowly up through the middle stages. The Kings started to close the gap slowly, but the Rattlers continued to hold a small lead, up 18-15. They were able to again expand the lead and took a 21-16 lead, forcing the Kings to take a timeout. As the set came to a close, the Rattlers were able to put the ball away and took a 25-21 first set victory.

The second set started very much like the first. The teams traded side-outs early as the game remained deadlocked. At 4-4 the Kings started a run of 4 doubling the Rattlers before they could respond. From here the teams again traded side-outs as Red Deer held an advantage as the game moved into the middle part of the set. The tight match was a back and forth affair with the momentum swinging both ways on big hits and blocks. The Kings lead was down to 2, 14-12 before a Keandre Evans Kill brought the Rattlers back within one. A big block from Kings Mark DeWit restored the 2 point lead for the visitors. With the score 20-18, the Rattlers needed to do something fast if they wanted to steal the set back. With a Keandre Evans kill and a good serve from Nathan Chernik the Rattlers found themselves down 1, 20-21 forcing the Kings to take a timeout. They were able to score fast out of the break restoring their slight lead, only to be answered once again by the Rattlers. The Rattlers scored again and tied the set at 22. With the Kings winning the side-out the Rattlers called a timeout in an attempt to ice the server. With two back to back points, the Rattlers took their fist lead, 24-23 now forcing the Kings to take a timeout. With the set tied at 24 we would need extra points, but an ace from Carter Hills gave the Kings the chance to serve for the set. The Rattlers again tied it and scored the next 2 taking a 27-25 second set victory.

Leading 2-0 again, The Rattlers hoped to finish the game here rather than give the Kings a chance to get back in the game. The Rattlers opened the third set serving for the first two points. Holding a slight lead early the Home side were up early, with the Kings right on their heels. The Rattlers continued to push however and opened up a 7-3 lead. Red Deer responded with a quick two points before the Rattlers responded with a big block. The Kings kept chipping away slowly as the score climbed up the board and quickly had reduced the lead to 1. The score remained like this for a few points as the teams traded points until Red Deer tied the set at 10. Still very even, the teams continued to trade points and serves with no clear advantage in the mid part of the set. the Rattlers were running a very effective offence through Jovan Stepanovic who killed a tough ball and followed it up with an ace giving the Rattlers the lead. The Kings came right back with two of their own, able to one again tie the set at 16. With two more the visitors took a 18-16 lead late in the set. After another quick point, the Kings extended their lead to 3, 20-17. The Rattlers called a timeout in an effort to regroup and come back once again. The Kings were able to convert coming out of the break, and again increased the lead. The Rattlers narrowed the lead to 1, 21-22 and forced the Kings to take a timeout. Red Deer scored a quick 2 points out of the break and held a 24-21 lead with a chance to serve for the game. They were able to hold on to win 25-21 and force a 4^th set.

The 4^th set opened with the Rattlers jumping out to a quick 3-1 lead with the help of a Jovan Stepanovic ace. The Kings quickly erased the deficit to tie it at 4 before taking the lead on a block. The teams looked to be very evenly matched with the score bouncing back and forth always remaining close. The score was 12-10 Rattlers as the set hit the midway point. After another block from the Rattlers and a 13-10 lead, the Kings took their first timeout. They were able to close the gap slightly but still trailed by 2. The evenly matched teams were so close that every point was crucial. The Kings tied the set at 15 before the Rattlers answered with a big Jonas Enns kill. Stepanovic was able to follow it up with another Rattlers kill to regain their small cushion. Very short lived, the Kings responded right away and scored on a Rattler error to even it at 17. The Rattlers regained their cushion again on a Keandre Evans ace. Adding again to the lead the Rattlers led 21-18 forcing the Kings to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Rattlers took the next point and held their lead as the teams traded side-outs again. The Rattlers were able to hang on for a 25-20 win and a 3-1 set victory.

The ACAC Players of the game were Tom Wass for RDC and Jovan Stepanovic for MHC