Despite a much more competitive weekend than we saw last semester, the Lions fell to the SAIT Trojans in five sets on Friday and in four sets on Saturday night. The Trojans, ranked third in the CCAA national circuit, had too many weapons for Ambrose to battle through and denied the Lions another 5th set tiebreaker.

Neither team established a meaningful lead throughout the first set. Both squads shook off the nerves in a packed house, getting past the almost-unavoidable string of first-set errors, and the Lions found most of their offense in the form of rightside Adam Morris and leftside Keaton Strom. Strom was last night's Player of the Game, scoring 14 kills to go with 5 service aces and one stuff block. The teams were tied up at 22 late in the set, and a few lucky bounces and a SAIT setting error handed the Lions a first set victory.

Although the score was close for most of the second set, the Lions fell flat towards the end as the SAIT block started to come alive. 5th year rightside Spencer Coulter (8 kills and 4 aces) was an almost unstoppable option out of the front or back row whenever the Trojans needed a kill, and middle Juan Becerra was the visiting team's POG. He had 7 kills, 2 aces, and 5 stuff blocks. SAIT equalized the score after winning the second set 25-18.

The Trojans' momentum carried into the third set, taking a 10-3 lead early as the Lions struggled to find a way to score. With the score 18-23, Keaton Strom stepped back to the service line and gave his team a 4-0 run which including 2 aces, an overpass, and a kill from Strom himself. A Trojans block and subsequent missed serve made the score 23-24, but unfortunately for the home team a well-placed roll shot by Trojans leftside Mark Anderson ended the set right there.

The fourth set, despite several long stoppages in play regarding disputed calls, remained fairly close until the end. The serving of Jacob Reid (35 assists) and Strom gave the Lions an edge, while the Lions attacking across the board remained solid. Middles Nolan Ens (5 kills) and Brodie Juul-Hansen (8 kills) began pulling their weight offensively late in the game. In the end, SAIT showed why they're at the top of the ACAC South and pulled away when they needed to, taking a 16-18 lead and turning it into a 25-18 victory.

This brings the Lions to 4-16, who have yet to face the 5th place Red Deer Kings and 2nd place Briercrest Clippers. Next week's home game will take place on Thursday at 8:00, the men's game following the women's, and the teams will travel to Red Deer on Saturday.

- Brent Ingram