Lions Victorious In Senior Night Battle Against Visiting Kodiaks

            The Ambrose women's volleyball team began their final weekend of the regular season with a win, defeating the Lethbridge Kodiaks 3-1 in the Lions' Den. Coach Colin Kubinec said after the game, "We knew that it could all come down to this weekend, so we've been preparing for this one for a while. We feel that we match up pretty well with Lethbridge, and if we take care of our side and win the serve/pass battle then we will see some success."

            Ambrose controlled the first set with strong defense and limited their unforced errors. Lethbridge, meanwhile, committed too many hitting and service errors to give themselves a chance at making a run for the set. The Lions took an early 4-point lead and never looked back, winning the first set 25-16 after a kill out of the middle from Shae Mendes.

            The second set swung completely the other way, as Lethbridge brought much more heat from the service line and put the Ambrose serve receive in trouble. Kodiaks POG Laura Serafini (9 kills, 4 blocks, 3 digs) began making an impact offensively early in the second set, and a long serving run by Lethbridge middle Shelby Rinehart put the visitors up 12-6. An ace by Kristine Ward finished the set at 25-20 and evened up the game.

            Momentum promptly shifted back to the Lions, and the third set looked much like the first. In her final home game, Ambrose senior Brooklyn Dyck (8 digs, 2 assists) anchored the serve receive and kept her team alive when Lethbridge's stronger servers (Lindsay Glas, Shelby Rinehart, and Kristine Ward) began to pick up steam from behind the line. Midway through the set the Lions had established a massive 17-5 lead, and the set ended soon after at 25-10.

            The fourth and final set was more competitive than the previous one, Lethbridge pushing back against a mid-set Lions lead. With the home team up 19-14, the crafty attacking of the Kodiaks brought them within two before Kubinec called a timeout. That was as close as they would get; following the timeout, the Lions went on a 5-1 run and put themselves in prime position to win. A missed serve by Kodiaks setter Ashleigh-Dawn Noel gave the Lions set and game point, bringing Ambrose to 8-15.

            Following the game, the crowd and coaching staff honoured 5th year libero Brooklyn Dyck, graduating this year after three seasons with the Lions. Kubinec mentioned in his post-game interview, "She's been a real gift to our program…she has a real seriousness about the game but also a love for it…her consistency, her character, I cannot say enough about who she is as a person, and we've just been blessed to have her."

            While they haven't mathematically assured themselves a playoff spot, a win on Saturday night would secure Ambrose's first-ever appearance in the ACAC postseason. Tune in on acactv.ca or drive down to Lethbridge if you want to see Ambrose make history. Go Lions!

- Brent Ingram