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Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference "To be Canada's premiere collegiate athletic conference by developing and inspiring leadership through excellence in academics, sport and citizenship"
Posted: Jan 20, 2017

Lions Sweep Broncos At Home

Box Score
Game Leaders
OC
K: Waylon Auger - 13
B: Connor Compton - 3
D: 4 Players (#02, #03, #06, #11) - 4
SA: 4 Players (#02, #06, #07, #11) - 1
AMB
K: 2 Players (#7, #13) - 10
B: 3 Players (#1, #4, #5) - 2
D: Keaton Strom - 7
SA: Graeson Bergen - 5
Team Stats
Full stats

            In a rematch of the season opener, the Olds Broncos visited Ambrose University on Friday night. Despite starting a lineup that hasn't seen much of the court due to several injuries, the Lions kept their composure and won convincingly in three sets. Keaton Strom and Graeson Bergen carried the Lions' offense and had nearly identical stat lines: 10 kills and 2 errors out of 12 swings for 67% hitting efficiency. The only difference between them was the possibly record-setting 7 service aces from Graeson Bergen, who subsequently picked up Player of the Game.

            The Lions looked very mentally composed in the first set, executing well on offense and serving aggressively. Olds got off to a shaky start and committed too many hitting errors to give themselves a chance, with the set ending at 25-16 for the Lions.

            Set two was more of the same and ended in a 25-19 Lions win. Olds put up a valiant effort including some great serving and attacking from Waylon Auger, who would end up with POG and 13 kills on the night, but clean play from the Lions made it 2-0 for the home team. 1st year Lions setter Jared VanderZwaag looked very comfortable on the floor, distributing the ball well and making it easy for his hitters to put the ball away.

            The third and final set began with an incredible serving run by Graeson Bergen in which he gave his team a 7-1 lead, including 3 aces. Despite the early lead, the Broncos battled all the way back and tied up the game at 15-15 off of energetic defense and strong attacking from Auger and rightside Connor Compton. The teams kept it close until the end, when a kill from Bergen made it 24-21. After a missed serve from Keaton Strom put the Broncos within two points, Strom would make up for it with the game-winning kill coming out of the back row.

            "I thought we passed very well tonight…we executed some things very well, and we earned more points tonight, so I thought that we controlled the match," said Men's Coach Paul Armbruster. "We also gave them a few too many points, but we wanted to work on earning and being aggressive, and we were doing that, so that was exceptional."

            Saturday night in Olds will feature a rematch between these old ACAL rivals, both teams looking to add to their win column in these finals weeks of the season. Tune in to the match on acactv.ca if you can't make it to the Ralph Klein Centre. Go Lions!

 

- Brent Ingram