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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Jan 20, 2017

Lions Bolster Their Playoff Hopes With 3-1 Win Against Olds

Box Score
Game Leaders
OC
K: Janelle Neyron - 14
B: Delaney Pysar - 2
D: 3 Players (#05, #06, #08) - 16
SA: Tara Yuha - 3
AMB
K: Julia Kemper - 16
B: Shae Mendes - 4
D: Madison Richter - 14
SA: Shae Mendes - 2
Team Stats
Full stats

   As two of the women's teams gunning for a playoff spot in the ACAC South, the Ambrose Lions and Olds Broncos faced off on Friday night in a match that could make or break their respective seasons. Ambrose faced tough serving and attacking from a resilient Olds team, but the hometown Lions clutched out a win in four sets. Lions Player of the Game Somer Bartel said after the game, "I think we were a little bit up and down, but we really clutched it when it mattered most."

            The first set started off evenly, as both teams shook off nerves and settled into a calm mindset. Olds would strike first, taking a 19-14 lead off of consistent attacking from Janelle Neyron and aggressive serving. The Lions came roaring back and went on an 11-3 run, winning the set 25-22.

            The second set was all Olds; more tough serving put the Lions' serve receive off balance and made it difficult to score, while the Ambrose hitters struggled with hitting errors that did nothing to help their chances. Set Two ended in a Broncos victory, 25-17.

            The Lions regrouped and started off very strong in the third set, jumping out to an early 11-5 lead after a big block by Shae Mendes. They maintained their lead throughout the set and won 25-17 after an Olds hitting error. Somer Bartel, coming in off the bench, began to heat up offensively in the this set en route to 10 kills with 67% hitting efficiency on the night.

            Now up 2-1, the Lions had to fight for every point in the fourth set. Apart from a 10-7 lead for the Broncos, which the Lions quickly recovered to make it 11-11, neither team had a lead greater than two points throughout the entire set. Tied 24-24, a kill from Somer Bartel put her team in position to take the match, and another hitting error from the Broncos sealed it up for a Lions victory.

            Coach Colin Kubinec remarked that it took a lot of players coming in and doing their part to pull out the win. "A big part of our success tonight was some key performances by certain players and in particular some people that came in off the bench. Somer brought a great spark, Kerr went in the back row for a few passing rotations, Karina Richichi coming in to serve, just key players doing what they do best at key times."

            The Lions are now 7-10, sitting in 4th place. The 5th-place Broncos fall to 4-13, and the teams will play again tonight at the Ralph Klein Centre in Olds. Go Lions!


- Brent Ingram