Rustlers Men's Volleyball | Weekend Recap - Nov 22 & 23, 2019
The Rustlers men's volleyball team completed their weekend with two wins over the Concordia Thunder (Friday 3-1, and Saturday 3-2).
On Friday night at home the Rustlers would defeat the Thunder 3 sets to 1 (25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 25-20).
In the opening set, the Rustlers and Thunder battled the whole set through. Ultimately the Rustlers would come out on top thanks to some clutch defensive plays near the end of the set.
The Rustlers would go through a bit of a lull in the middle of the second set, allowing the Thunder to go up by 6 points. The Thunder would take advantage and win the second set 25-17 over the Rustlers.
To start the third set, the Rustlers would trail a few points and remain behind for majority of the set. The Rustlers would come back from this deficit and win the third set 25-21.
In the final set, the Rustlers remained in control of the game and would end the match defeating the Thunder 25-20 in the fourth set.
Player of the game for the Rustlers was Jean Carlo Funez with a team-high 17 digs. Fourth-year outside hitter Matt Peck had 14 kills, 1 block and 8 digs in the match.
Second year outside hitter Ryan van Oosterwijck had 9 kills, 2 service aces and 7 digs, and second year setter Lane blight had 1 kill, 2 service aces, 12 digs and 40 assists.
On Saturday at Concordia the Rustlers struggled early but ended up winning the game in a 5th and deciding set (18-25, 16-25, 25-21, 25-22, 15-11). The Thunder would go up 2 sets to none, and it was not looking good for the Rustlers.
In the third set was when the Rustlers found their stride and handily won the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22. The Rustlers would make the ultimate comeback winning the 5th set 15-11 to defeat the Thunder.
The Rustlers were led by outside Ryan van Oosterwijck with 17 kills, 1 block and 17 digs, earning him player of the game honours. Fourth-year middle Tyler Williamson added 11 kills to the Rustlers offense as well as 2 blocks and 4 digs.
The Rustlers are heading into their last weekend of the semester with a record of 6-4. They will host the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves at home for a double-header series.
Game times for the men are 8 pm on Friday, November 29 and 3 pm on Saturday, November 30, following the women's games.