Women's Volleyball Weekend Recap | November 6, 2017
The Lakeland Rustlers swept their weekend series with the Concordia Thunder, defeating them 3-0 Friday and Saturday nights.
Friday night, the Rustlers defeated the Thunder in three sets (25-11, 25-13, 26-24) in Lloydminster. In the first set, the Rustlers got out to a 7-2 lead, forcing the Thunder to call a timeout. The Thunder found themselves down 10-2 before they were able to cut the lead to 10-4. The Rustlers built their lead up to 19-9 and took the set 25-11.
The second started with the two teams trading points before the Rustlers opened up an 11-4 lead. The Thunder would try to fight back, but the Rustlers were too strong and won 25-13. The Thunder opened up a 3-1 lead to start the third set, but the Rustlers came back to tie the score at 4. The Thunder built a 10-6 lead that they were able to extend to 16-11. The Rustlers fought back to tie the score at 20. The teams traded points before the Rustlers were able to score twice in a row and win the set 26-24.
Player of the Game for the Rustlers was #14, Tawnee Dupuis, who had nine kills and seven digs. Fourth year outside hitter Ahnika Kuse also had nine kills for the Rustlers while fourth year setter Rae Sigurdson had 36 assists.
The first set has been a problem for the Rustlers in the past, but it is something the Rustlers have been working on. "We have been working on turning it on right away in practice," Dupuis said.
Rustlers Head Coach Austin Dyer saw improvements in his team to start the match. "We came out with confidence," Dyer said. "We have been talking about what we need to do at the start of each game and coming out strong when the score is 0-0. We made next to no errors in the first two sets. The third set was tight because we couldn't serve or hit the ball in the court. If you don't play well, keep the ball in play and make a lot of mistakes, anybody is going to have a chance to win."
Although the majority of the Rustlers team has played together, third year right side Avery Maginel believes the team continues to come together. "We have really come together as a team," Maginel said. "We are doing a good job of just focusing on our system and not worrying about what the other team does. We are learning how to serve receive with each other, learning in the game and all making sure we are doing our own job."
Saturday night in Edmonton, the Rustlers again defeated the Thunder in three sets (25-22, 25-20, 25-14). The Thunder came out strong and pushed the Rustlers in the first two sets, but the Rustlers strength and experience was the difference maker, allowing them the once again defeat the Thunder in three.
The Rustlers were led by fourth year outside hitter Shelby Becker who had 12 kills and nine digs. Sigurdson had 30 assists for the Rustlers and 2nd-year libero Olivia Thomson had 14 digs. Player of the Game for the Rustlers was second year outside hitter Belle de Vries who had eight kills and seven digs.
The Rustlers head into their bye week with an 8-0 record. The Rustlers return to the court November 17th and 18th when they travel to Fort McMurray to face the Keyano Huskies.