Queens sweep Ooks to to advance to conference Semi-Final

CAMROSE, Alta. - Setting the tone for the 2025 ACAC Women's Volleyball Championship, the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens rolled to a Game 1 win defeating the NAIT Ooks in straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16,25-22), on Thursday afternoon at Augustana Gym.

The victory moves the south's second-seeded team onto the right side of the bracket for a shot at the ACAC Championship on Saturday, pending they win their Semi-Final match tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Ooks who were seeded third in the north will play on the consolation side.

"I thought NAIT came out and played really well as they were much sharper than we were and their offence seemed to click," said Queen's head coach Talbot Walton on the team's start as they trialled 6-2 in the opening set. "We finally got settled down, made some good serves and got some big digs that allowed us to get the feel of the match and made some minor adjustments to help us capitalize."

South player of the year, Lauren Junck proved her skill, leading both teams in kills on the afternoon with 14, while adding two kills. Teammate Maria Brouwer was poised for success having 30 assists and Francesca Sandini was a defensive force with a total of 12 digs in the win.

Across the net, the Ooks found lots of fight from Tanisha McQueen as she created a wall at the net for six of the team's total 16 blocks, leading all players on the court. Rachel Mallett led NAIT with 11 kills.

Jumping out to a hot start, NAIT took the early lead to put the higher-seeded Queens on their back foot. However, Sandini's defence kept the ball off the floor, allowing the Queens to battle back to tie the game at 10 points a piece. Hoping to hold on to a first-set upset, NAIT's Makenna Doyle's block held off the first set point, however, Junck would win the next and final set point as her kill would give the Queens the set, 25-21.

Finding their flow, the Queens took the early lead in set two with a 7-1 scoreline before a master class of composure held off the fighting Ooks who closed the gap, 15-12, eventually taking the set, 25-16.

Needing one more set to sweep, the Queens were forced to battle, exchanging points with the Ooks leading through the first 20 points. Raya Roesler block changed the third set momentum late to allow the Queens to break away 23-21 with Rachel Perry providing the monster block on match point to give the Queens a 25-22 set win, advancing to the championship Semi-Final.

"We were able to play at our level today and will be a little celebratory today," mentioned Walton. "We now need to do the best job we can to be prepared for the Semi-Final match tomorrow."

The Queens will wait for the results of Game 2 between the SAIT Trojans and Lakeland Rustlers this afternoon to learn who they will take on in ACAC Semi-Final action tomorrow at 6:00 PM MST at Augustana Gym.