Lions Take First Win of the Season Against Olds
Starting the season off 0-5, the Ambrose Lions have officially entered the win column after a 3-1 victory over the Olds College Broncos on Friday night in the Lions Den. 3rd year leftside Harrison Rosewarn (13 kills, 1 ace, 10 digs) was the home team's Player of the Game, alongside Broncos leftside Haiden Hurtig (6 kills, 1 ace, 5 digs).
The first set was all Broncos, controlling the game and holding a 15-10 lead before the first Ambrose timeout. The consistent serving of Olds setter Matheus Coelho and leftside Thundersky Walkingbear, combined with a slough of errors on the Lions side, made it impossible for the home team to make a comeback. The relentless defense of the Broncos (57 digs total) frustrated the Lions' attackers throughout the set; the double block from middle Braden Bates and outside Jesse Stoddart on the setter dump attempt from Lions captain Ryan Andres would finish the opening frame 25-19.
Olds picked up where they left off in the start of the second, taking a 5-0 lead largely due to the serving of Coelho (19 assists, 13 digs). Ambrose, however, found contributions from all over the roster to bring it back to a tie at 15-15. While the teams traded points until the very end, a few timely kills from Braden Nowosad (7 kills, 3 blocks) and unfortunate errors from the Broncos gave the home team they edge they needed to squeak out a 25-23 win and equalize the set score.
In front of a boisterous home crowd, the Lions took a large lead early in the third set and never looked back. After failing to register a single block in the first set, the Lions racked up 12 stuff blocks over the next three sets to stifle the offense of the Broncos. Up 24-9, the back row attack of Broncos captain Jesse Stoddart (5 kills, 9 digs, 2 blocks) was blocked by Lions middle Evan Mann to cap off the set and put the home team up 2-1.
A few lineup changes by the Broncos, including rightside Tyson Deschene (4 kills, 7 digs, 1 block), made positive differences in the game and prevented the Lions from running away with the final set. Tied at 10-10, the Lions POG Harry Rosewarn went back to serve and took his team on a crucial 7-0 run to take the set all but out of reach for the visitors. Olds fought to cut the lead down to 19-17, but could not get any closer to tying the score before the Lions closed out the set 25-20 and the game 3-1.
These two teams rematch Saturday night in Olds, where the Broncos will look for their first win and the Lions will go for the weekend sweep.