Snapping skids and making history
Volleyball squad picks up first win since Nov. 18, Werre sets new ACAC women’s basketball record
The Medicine Hat Rattlers women’s volleyball team put a six-game losing skid behind them Friday at the Snake Pit.
While the Lethbirdge College Kodiaks managed to stave off a match point in the fourth set and force a tiebreaker, the Rattlers dug in their heels and secured their first victory since Nov. 18 by dominating Lethbridge in the fifth (25-17, 20-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-10).
“We needed that big time,” said Rattlers head coach Kim Stonehouse. “We had a lot of offensive threats and that helped us be successful. It kept their block honest and their defence on their heels.”
The Kodiaks kept on Medicine Hat’s heels, picking up wins in the second and fourth sets, but head coach Anna Schwark says frustration started to set in entering the fifth set.
“I think we went in feeling confident, but it’s hard not to get frustrated when a team is playing as good defence as Medicine Hat did tonight,” said Schwark, adding the Highway 3 rivalry is really heating up. “We know every time we come here we’re going to five sets.”
Brooke Christie led the Rattlers with 17 kills and added 14 digs, while Amber Stigter added 15 digs and 16 kills. But they weren’t the only threats on the floor, as five Rattlers managed at least 12 digs and four put up at least seven kills.
“I think we ran the offence really well,” said Christie. “Janessa (Oelke) moved the ball around well and kept Lethbridge guessing where we were going to put the ball.”
The win moves the Rattlers to within eight points of the final playoff spot in the Alberta Colleges Athletics Conference South Division standings at 5-12 with seven matches remaining in the regular season. The Kodiaks fell to 9-6.
The Rattlers may have lost the game, but Kennedy Werre made ACAC women’s basketball history on Friday at St. Mary’s University.
The fifth-year forward collected eight rebounds in an eventual 83-43 loss to the Lightning, to set a new ACAC career record with 925 and counting.
The record was previously held by former Rattler and Lightning player Mary-Jean Ritchie — at 921 rebounds — making Friday’s game between the two squads at St. Mary’s the perfect place to set a new bar.
Werre spent her rookie year on the same Rattlers squad as Ritchie before rewriting the ACAC history book in her fifth and final season.
Kendall Kuntz led the Rattlers offence with nine points on the night while Emily Wagner led the Lightning with a game-high 18.
The Rattlers sit two points behind the SAIT Trojans for the top of the ACAC South at 8-3, while the Lightning improved to 6-4.
The Rattlers men’s volleyball team slipped to 9-8 with their seventh consecutive loss on Friday, falling in straight sets to the Lethbridge Kodiaks (25-22, 25-23, 25-21)
Vitor Pereira led the Rattlers with nine kills while Kreggan Scharnatta dug out eight, but the Kodiaks proved too strong thanks in part to 18 kills from Dax Whitehead and 10 digs from Tony Albizzati.
The loss drops Medicine Hat to fourth in the ACAC South Division, while the Kodiaks jumped to third at 10-5.
The Rattlers volleyball teams head to Lethbridge Saturday for a rematch with the Kodiaks.
Josh Magpantay posted 17 points while Stephen Jones and Jon Sappleton controlled the boards with eight rebounds each to lead the Rattlers men’s basketball team to an 85-67 win over the St. Mary’s Lightning.
Mobin Ali led the Lightning offence with 15 and seven boards.
The win puts Medicine Hat at 9-2 while the Lightning fell to 19.
The Rattlers basketball teams return to the Snake Pit Saturday to host the St. Mary’s Lightning with the women taking the floor at 6 p.m. followed by the men at 8 p.m.