Rattlers Beat Broncos to Spit Weekend

The Olds Broncos were back in the Snake Pit for the second time in as many days to take on the Medicine Hat College Rattlers. The Rattlers hoped for a better result than the night previous in which they took a tough 5 set loss. The Game opened with the teams trading side-outs for the first few points. Medicine Hat grabbed the momentum and went on a 5 point serving run thanks to big blocks and a few aces from Aleksa Zivic. This forced Olds to call a timeout down 7-2. The Rattlers came right out and held serve on a big block before the Broncos regained the serve. The Rattlers continued to roll adding to their lead opening up a 13-5 lead. this forced Olds to burn their second timeout early in the first set. the Rattlers continued to maintain their lead as the set moved into the later stages. Up 18-11 the Rattlers had a firm control of the first. They added 3 more to take a 21-11 lead making the lead double digits. The Rattlers cruised to take the first set 25-14

The second set started with the teams trading side-outs for the first 4 points of the set. the Rattlers again started a run and took a 6-3 lead before the Broncos could respond. the Broncos tied the set at 6 before the Rattlers gained the serve back. The teams continued to trade side-outs until a poor pass renewed the Rattler 2 point lead. Olds was staying right with the Rattlers in the set after a lopsided first. The Rattlers were able to add to their lead opening up a 14-10 lead. The Broncos were looking to come back and gain momentum but the Rattlers were able to answer every Broncos push. The 4 point lead remained as the score continued to climb closer to the end point. The Rattlers again extended their lead going up 20-13 forcing Olds to take a timeout. They used this timeout to stem the Rattlers momentum but not containing it. The Rattlers still held a 22-16 lead in the final stages of the set. Medicine Hat held on to take a 25-18 second set victory going up 2 sets to 0.

The Rattlers opened up the third set with a quick 3 contact side-out. A great dig and the Rattlers scored again. Another quick 2 points and the Rattlers had a 4-0 lead quickly. The Broncos were able to get 2 back before the Rattlers regained serve. The Teams traded side outs and the score started to slowly climb up the board. The Rattlers took control again taking a 10-5 lead with the help of no mistakes from the home side. This saw the Broncos take a time out. They were able to score three straight coming out of the timeout to reduce the Rattler lead. back within 1, only down 9-10 the Broncos looked to close the gap. Aiming to preserve the lead, the Rattlers Bench took their first timeout in an effort to reorganize. The Broncos tied the set at 10 thanks to Thundersky Walking bear going on a tear serving enough to tie the set. Again the teams traded side-outs as the now level set slowly worked up again. The Broncos took a small advantage up 15-13 as the set moved past the mid point. The Rattlers battled back again and were able to take a 17-16 lead as the end of the set loomed. Trading a side-out each the score continued to climb closer to the end with neither team holding an advantage. The Rattlers led 20-19 with the serve and were able to score again on a Broncos miss. The Olds coach's reaction earned him a yellow card for throwing a clipboard. With a 21-19 lead the Rattlers held a crucial advantage late in the set and the Olds bench took their second timeout. The Broncos came out and tied the set at 21, forcing the Rattlers to take their final timeout. The score was knotted at 22 and with no timeouts left the teams would play out the set. the score remained tied at 24. The Broncos scored the last 2 points and snuck out a 26-24 third set victory.

The fourth set saw the teams trading side-outs to start the set, but the broncos were able to score the next two to open a tiny lead. the Rattlers used this as motivation and battled back to take a 6-5 lead. they added another right after on an Olds miss and led 7-5. This shift caused the Broncos to take an early timeout. The Rattlers were able to hold on to their lead out of the break as the Back and forth play continued. Brooks was holding on despite being down a few they did not give up like the first 2 sets and continued to battle. The back and forth continued with the Rattlers leading 19-17 late in the set. Able to score the next two points, the Rattlers opened up a 21-17 lead late forcing the Broncos to take a timeout. The Rattlers were able to hold on out of the break trading side-outs and maintain their advantage. Medicine Hat was up 24-21 with a chance to serve for the set. the Rattlers held on for a 25-22 set win and a 3 sets to 1 victory.

The ACAC Players of the game were Haiden Hurtig for Olds and Dexter Mackie for MHC