Lions Defeated By Clippers 3-0 At Home

            Unforced errors and the stifling block of the Briercrest Clippers prevented the hometown Ambrose Lions for winning a set on Friday night, dropping their 17th loss to the fourth place Clippers. Ambrose Captain and Player of the Game Nolan Ens (4 kills, 1 block) told us after the game, "Passing was tough…they've got a lot of really good servers, so it was difficult for us to run our offense. In the second [set] we had a good chance to put them away, but I missed a serve and we missed a few hits we shouldn't have, so we gotta be more clutch."

            By the time the Lions found their groove and began playing with the Clippers point-for-point, the first half of the set had come and gone and Briercrest was up 17-13. Although the major strength of the Clippers' offense is found in their lightning-fast tempo to the outsides, it was aggressive middle runs that the Ambrose defense found themselves struggling to stop. A pipe run from Curtis Dyck kept his team alive and made the score 20-24, but a setter dump from Norwegian recruit Ludvig Larsen gave the Clippers the first set victory.

            The second set featured the return of the Lions' star leftside Keaton Strom, sidelined for the past few weekends due to a shoulder injury. Ambrose kept pace with the visitors, Strom and the rest of the Lions' attackers changing up their hits and throwing in roll shots to score against the big blocks of the Clippers. Down 17-20, the home team went on a 5-0 run and took the lead at 22-20 after a thunderous party ball by Strom. Coming out of their timeout, the Clippers picked up steam and took back the lead with a 5-1 run to take the second set 25-23.

            In the third set, Briercrest gradually pulled away and widened their lead enrolee to a convincing 25-17 win. Strong spin serving from Calvin Sawatsky, Mitch Erickson, and Briercrest POG Bryan Fountain (8 kills, 1 ace) made it impossible for the Lions to give themselves a chance at making a comeback. Nolan Ens was a force at the net, but his offensive contributions were limited by the passing of the Lions. At 17-24 Clippers, it was a kill in the middle from Calvin Sawatsky that sealed up the set and the game for Briercrest.

             "In the first two sets I was happy with our defense and digging, but we didn't have an awesome night across the board," said Lions Head Coach Paul Armbruster. "There were individuals that hit well tonight, but as a team we didn't see enough termination to translate into success…We need to be able to pass some of their spins a little bit better and our float servers need to be able to execute with greater difficulty."

            The Lions (4-17) and the Clippers (12-7) will meet again on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm. If going to see the game live isn't possible, watch the live stream at acactv.ca. Go Lions!

- Brent Ingram