The men's, women's and junior varsity men's volleyball teams all fell in the quarter-finals at the Western Canadian College Open Volleyball Championships hosted at Olds College over the weekend. Both the men's and women's teams came into the tournament on a high, winning the Alberta Colleges Athletic League's respective championships the previous weekend.
The men, who went into the championships with a perfect match record over the course of the season, were defeated in the quarter-finals by Ambrose University College in three sets (25-18, 20-25, 15-12). In defeating the Broncos, the Lions exacted a measure of revenge for the previous weekend, when the roles were reversed at the ACAL championships.
The men went into the playoffs after a 1-1 match record in the preliminary round. The Broncos opened the tournament losing to Canadian Mennonite University by equal 25-23, 25-23 scores followed by a 25-19, 25-19 victory over Prairie Bible Institute. The Broncos also defeated SIAST Palliser in a play-in match 25-21, 25-16.
Meanwhile the Junior Varsity team lost in the quarter-finals to the eventual tournament champion, University of Alberta Augustana, 25-15, 25-19. The JV Broncos went into the playoffs with a 1-1 record, defeating Millar College of the Bible 25-23, 15-25, 15-13 and losing 25-21, 25-14 to St. Boniface University. In the play-in match, the JVs defeated PBI 25-19, 25-21.
Steve Adams, JV coach, said the team played well.
“They grew a lot all year and from a maturity standpoint, I think they actually improved a lot and this weekend was actually a really good test,” he said.
Augustana, an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference team (a level higher than the ACAL) showed the Broncos what they need to do to play better volleyball, which Adams said was positive from a growth standpoint.
“It was good for the guys … because it shows them that there's room to improve, but at the same time it shows them that they can compete with a team that is more competitive,” he said.
The women were defeated in the quarter-final by PBI in three sets (11-25, 25-19, 17-15). They went into the playoff match with a 2-0 record, defeating SIAST Kelsey 25-20, 25-15 and Great Plains College 25-16, 25-12.
Canadian Mennonite University won the women's title, defeating King's University College in straight sets, 25-19, 25-20.
"It was good for the guys ... because it shows them that there's room to improve, but at the same time it shows them that they can compete with a team that is more competitive."Steve Adams, JV men's volleyball coach, Olds College Broncos
