Eagles complete reverse sweep to claim fifth place

The King's University Eagles dug deep on the final day of the 2023 Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Men's Volleyball Championship Presented by Elite Promotional Marketing. 

Down two-sets-to-none, the Eagles reverse swept the Lakeland Rustlers (17-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-13) to claim fifth place at the tournament Saturday at the Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre in Fort McMurray, Alta. 

"Through a long weekend, you can tell the guys are exhausted phyiscally and mentally," said Eagles Head Coach Ryan Teliske. "A lot of guys, this game meant a lot for us. I'm glad they finished on a strong note." 

Kaiden Aceron led a trio of Eagles with 15 kills. Jayden Hiebert matched his jersey number with a 14-kill performance, and Tanner Piers put down 13 kills of his own throughout the match. Mason Gorski added a cool 38 assists, also tying for the team lead with seven digs. 

Cameron Jones led the Rustlers attack Saturday with 13 kills. Brock Tomyn and Gustavo Lobato each recorded seven in the match. 

The Rustlers charged ahead early, but the Eagles were determined to end their season with a win, clawing back to edge the Rustlers in the third and fourth sets before doing the same in the fifth. 

"After the first two sets, we were a little down but turned it around, guys got some energy going, and we were able to close one out so it felt really good," Hiebert said following his last ACAC match. 

Hiebert took Player of the Game honours for the Eagles while Elijah Rayner took the honours for the Rustlers.