Rustlers Men's Volleyball | Weekend Recap - January 24 & 25, 2020
The Rustlers men's volleyball team suffered 2 losses to the #1 ranked team in the North Division, currently, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks.
On Friday night the Rustlers hosted the Ooks in their home gym in Lloydminster where they would fall to the Ooks in 3 quick sets (20-25, 25-17, 25-19).
In the opening set the Rustlers hung with the Ooks for the most part, however, the Rustlers were ultimately overpowered by the Ooks near the end of the set. The Rustlers would lose the first set 25-20.
In the second set, the Ooks caused some frustration on the Rustlers side with some impressive defensive play. The Rustlers could not seem to score on the Ooks and the Ooks would take the second set 25-17.
The Ooks would carry this momentum in the third set and go up early and carry this lead until the end. The Rustlers would give a slight push back bringing the game to 24-19, where the Ooks would call a timeout. After the timeout the game would end with a kill from the Ooks' right side and conclude the match, 25-19.
The Rustler effort was led by fourth-year outside hitter, Matt Peck, with 8 kills, 1 ace, and 9 digs. Fourth-year right side, Cole Sutherland, and second-year outside hitter, Ryan van Oosterwijck would each add 4 kills to the board for the Rustlers.
Player of the game for the Rustlers was fourth-year libero, Jean Carlo Funez with a team-high 17 digs.
On Satuday, the Rustlers travelled to Edmonton to take on the Ooks in their home gym. The Rustlers would lose 3 sets to 1 to the Ooks (17-25, 25-21, 14-25, 22-25).
The Ooks would start the match exactly where they left off on Friday night, and would overpower the Rustlers in the first set 25-17.
In the second set, the Rustlers would show a little push back and end up winning the second set 25-21. This would not phase the Ooks as they would handily win the third set 25-14.
The fourth set was a much closer set. The Rustlers were down near the end and worked to bring the Ooks within 2, however, the Ooks would manage to find a hole in the Rustler defense and win the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
Player of the game for the Rustles was fourth-year middle blocker, Tyler Williamson with 7 kills, 2 service aces and 5 digs. Second-year right side, Tyson Deschene would also have 7 kills for the Rustlers along with 3 digs.
Third-year middle blocker, Brady Cole had 5 kills in the match, and Ryan van Oosterwijck had 5 kills and 3 digs.
The Rustlers volleyball teams will be travelling to Grande Prairie this upcoming weekend to take on the Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) Wolves. The games can be watched live online at acactv.ca at 8 pm on Friday, January 31, and 3 pm on Saturday, February 1.