Rustlers Women's Volleyball | Weekend Recap - January 24 & 25, 2020

The Lakeland Rustlers women's volleyball team extended their win streak to 14 straight games with their 2 wins over the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks this past weekend.

On Friday night in Lloydminster, the Rustlers defeated the Ooks 3 sets to 1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-17, 25-15).

The start of the game was a rough one for the Rustlers where they struggled to pass and control the ball. This may have been due to some aggressive serving on the Ooks side, which would pay off as they would defeat the Rustlers 24-26.

The Rustlers would quickly shake off their first set loss and take control of the pace of the game. The Rustlers passed well and were able to apply pressure using their serving to force the Ooks into numerous mistakes. The Rustlers would take the second set quite handily, 25-13.

The Rustlers would carry this momentum with them for the rest of the game, defeating the Ooks in the third set 25-17, and in the fourth set 25-15.

Player of the game for the Rustlers was fifth-year middle blocker, Avery Maginel, with 6 kills, 2 blocks, 4 digs and a 50% kill efficiency. First-year outside hitter, Jenay Varga, had 12 kills, 4 aces, and 10 digs in the match for the Rustlers. Her opposite, first-year outside hitter, Madison Blain had a team-high 14 digs and contributed 6 kills for the Rustlers.

The Rustlers travelled to Edmonton on Saturday to take on the Ooks once again in their home gym. The Rustlers would defeat the Ooks in 3 straight sets (25-21, 30-28, 25-21).

The opening set would be a close one, where they Rustlers and Ooks would nearly trade point for point for more than half of the set. The Rustlers would take control late in the set and win it 25-21 over the Ooks.

The Rustlers started the second set strong, going up early over the Ooks. The Ooks would fight their way back into the game and force the set into extra points. Both teams had several match points, but ultimately the Rustlers would take the set 30-28.

In the third set, the Ooks seemed defeated by their close second set loss. The Rustlers used this to their advantage and finished the set with a score of 25-21 and the game in 3 straight sets.

Player of the game for the Rustlers was first-year outside hitter, Jenay Varga, with 11 kills, 2 blocks, 3 aces and 5 digs. Avery Maginel mustered 7 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace and 3 digs for the Rustlers, while fourth-year middle blocker, Brooklyn Boehm had 4 kills, 1 block, 1 ace and 7 digs.

The Rustlers volleyball teams will be travelling to Grande Prairie this upcoming weekend to take on the Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) Wolves. The games can be watched online at acactv.ca at 6 pm on Friday, January 31 and 1 pm on Saturday, February 1.