Women's Volleyball Weekend Recap | November 27, 2017
The Lakeland Rustlers swept their weekend series against the Augustana Vikings to finish the first semester with a 12-0 record. The Rustlers defeated the Vikings in three sets Friday night in Camrose and followed it up with a victory in four sets Saturday night in Lloydminster.
The Lakeland Rustlers defeated the Augustana Vikings in three sets (25-23, 25-14, 25-12) Friday night in Camrose. The Rustlers were led by fourth year outside hitter Ahnika Kuse with nine kills and eight digs, earning her Player of the Game, while fourth year outside hitter Shelby Becker added eight kills and nine digs. Fourth year setter Rae Sigurdson distributed the ball, finishing the match with 28 assists.
Saturday night in Lloydminster, the Rustlers once again defeated the Viking, this time in 4 sets (25-15, 23-25, 25-14, 25-21). In the first set, the Rustlers opened up a 6-1 lead, forcing the Vikings to call a timeout. The Vikings responded out of the timeout, cutting the Rustlers lead to 10-6. The Rustlers spread the ball around, attacking and scoring from different positions, allowing them to open up an 18-9 lead. The Rustlers would go on to win the first set 25-15.
The two teams would trade points to start the third set before the Vikings would open up a 12-7 lead. The Rustlers would respond, cutting the Vikings lead to one, 14-13. The Vikings would increase their lead to 20-16, forcing the Rustlers to call a timeout. The Vikings continued to increase their lead, but the Rustlers battled back, making the score 24-22 for the Vikings before they would go on to win 25-23. The Rustlers opened up a 7-1 lead to start the third set. The Vikings answered with strong play of their own, cutting the Rustlers lead to 10-7. The teams would go back and forth for much of the set, with the Rustlers extending their lead to 20-11. The Rustlers would go on to win the set 25-14.
The Vikings would open up a 6-1 lead to start the fourth set, with the Rustlers committing errors. The Rustlers fought back, tying the score at 6. The teams would once again go back and forth for much of the set, with neither team taking more than a 2 point lead. The Rustlers would go on to win the set 25-21.
The Rustlers were led by third year outside hitter and Player of the Game Avery Maginel who had 11 kills and 12 digs. The Rustlers also got 12 kills and ten digs from Becker and 13 kills and six digs from Kuse. Sigurdson once again placed the ball in different scoring positions for the Rustlers and finished with 47 assists.
Despite getting two wins on the weekend, Rustlers Head Coach Austin Dyer found it to be a nerve-wracking weekend. "We didn't play like we usually do," Dyer said. "We made errors that we don't usually make. The first set Friday night was tight because we made errors while we were trying to get a feel for our opponent. Everything that was close this weekend wasn't a matter of the opponent putting pressure on us, but rather us making errors and when we dwell on those things, the errors compile and the points can rack up real quick."
The Rustlers will now take December off from league play to focus on exams.
League play will resume for the Rustlers January 5th & 6th when the Rustlers play the Concordia Thunder. The Rustlers will travel to Edmonton on the 5th and play at home on the 6th, with the match set to get underway at 6:00 pm.