Rustlers Men's Volleyball | Weekend Recap - Nov 8 & 9, 2019
The Rustlers men's volleyball team suffered another pair of losses this past weekend as they traveled to Fort McMurray to take on the currently undefeated Keyano College Huskies.
Friday night's game in Fort McMurray resulted in a loss in four sets for the Rustlers (20-25, 25-18, 23-25, 21-25). The first set was mainly Huskie controlled, as the Rustlers never seemed to be able to get ahead.
In the second set, the Rustlers played some outstanding defense and found holes in the Huskie defense that they were able to exploit.
The third set was tight the whole way through, with no team having a lead of more than 3. The Rustlers would ultimately lose the third set 23-25, a set that could have gone either way.
The Huskies would overpower the Rustlers with the game on the line in the fourth set, completing the match.
Player of the game for the Rustlers was fourth-year outside hitter Matt Peck with a team-high 17 kills, 11 digs, and 1 block. First-year outside, Ryan van Oosterwijck had 7 kills and 8 digs, and third-year Brady Cole had 5 kills out of the middle position.
Saturday afternoon, the Rustlers and the Huskies hit the court for a rematch. Unfortunately for the Rustlers, Saturday's game was similar to Friday's game ending in a loss in 4 sets (16-25, 25-19, 20-25, 28-26).
The Rustlers would have a slow and scrappy first set, allowing the Huskies to win the set quite handily (25-16). The Rustlers would recoup and tie the game 1-1 in sets after winning the second set 25-19.
The Huskies would respond with a strong third set. In the fourth set, the teams were neck-and-neck for the whole set. The Rustlers had set point to force a fifth set but could not manage to put the ball away to score. The set would go to extra points, and the Huskies would win 28-26 over the Rustlers to complete the match.
Player of the game for the Rustlers was fourth-year libero Jean Carlo Funez with 15 digs. Offensively the Rustlers were led by Matt Peck with 18 kills.
The Rustlers return to homecourt this coming weekend against the Augustana Vikings on Saturday, November 16th at 8 pm following the women's game.