Fans were eager to see how Briercrest would fare against the undefeated Red Deer College Queens, currently ranked number one. Briercrest didn’t just hand Red Deer their three straight win, coming close in every set, 23-25, 25-27, 22-25.  The entire first set was an exchange of small leads between the teams, the points never spanning more than one or two points. Serving demonstrated to be a factor in the score for both teams. Elly Wendel was a sharp shooter and despite many solid hits, Briercrest narrowly missed the first set 23-25.

Opening the second set 6-1, it looked as though Briercrest might run away with the score. Red Deer scrambled to get past Briercrest’s blocks. The momentum swung in Red Deer’s favor and they evened out at 12-12. Briercrest came out of their time out swinging, Erin Anderson putting away multiple shots. Briercrest extended their lead out to 18-16 with Red Deer to catch up 18-18. The teams traded points back and forth, but Red Deer pulled out at 27-25 win.

Red Deer took an early lead to open the third set, but Briercrest made a comeback, taking over 8-7. Red Deer reclaimed the lead 14-11 and Briercrest’s time out wasn’t enough to disrupt Red Deer’s momentum. Briercrest continued to battle from behind and called another time out down 17-22. Brooklyn Dyck came in to serve Briercrest back 21-22. The remaining points were hard-fought, but Red Deer regained their lead and took the final set 25-22.

Players of the game were Red Deer’s Amber Adolf with one block, one ace, nine digs and seven kills. Briercrest’s player of the game was Elly Wendel with two blocks, Briercrest’s single ace, ten digs and a whopping 17 kills. Briercrest led with 47 kills while Red Deer had 38. Red Deer had five aces while Briercrest had one. Briercrest had 8 blocks and Red Deer had 5. 

Briercrest plays Red Deer again tomorrow, January 25 at 1:00pm in the Margaret P. Reimer Memorial Gymnasium. Let’s go Clippers!