Rattlers volleyball teams miss out on playoffs

By Medicine Hat News on February 18, 2019.

The Medicine Hat Rattlers men’s volleyball team were dealt at heartbreaker on Saturday night.

The Rattlers did their part by clinching a five-set victory over the SAIT Trojans (25-13, 25-17, 18-25, 20-25, 15-12) to close out the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference regular season at the Snake Pit, but over in Calgary the Briercrest Clippers took a straight sets victory from the Ambrose Lions to earn the South Division’s final playoff berth through a tiebreaker with Medicine Hat.

Although the Rattlers matched Briercrest’s record at 13-11, the Clippers edged the Rattlers in an 8-6 set-based tiebreaker to punch their ticket to the ACAC Championship at NAIT.

Briercrest finished with a 50-38 record in sets, while Medicine Hat was 43-46. The Clippers won six matches straight down the stretch to clinch their playoff berth.

KeAndre Evans led the Rattlers with 16 kills and nine digs in Saturday’s win, but fellow hitter Alfred Dalevik had 15 kills and seven digs to end his ACAC career with all-time franchise records in kills (580) and digs (370). Dalevik also finished his Rattlers career second all-time in service aces with 64.

Riley Grusing led the Trojans with 17 kills Saturday while Jeffrey Carreos added 15 digs to end SAIT’s season at 14-10 – good enough for third in the South Division. The Lethbridge Kodiaks finished atop the division with a 22-2 record, followed by the Red Deer Kings at 18-6.

Women’s volleyball

The Medicine Hat Rattlers women’s volleyball team had their playoff hopes dashed in Friday’s loss to the Trojans, but they bounced back to close out the season on a high with a four-set victory over SAIT (25-22, 25-16, 16-25, 25-12) on Saturday at the Snake Pit.

Janelle Neyron fuelled the Rattler attack with 16 kills while adding a team-high 13 digs on defence. Brooke Christie had 12 digs and Janessa Oelke set up 22.

Anika Dyck led the Trojans with nine kills in the loss while Kristen Leippi dug out 17 and Tessa Geier added 25 assists.

The win put Medicine Hat back at the .500 mark to close out the season at 12-12. SAIT took the fourth and final playoff spot in the South Division at 14-10.

Briercrest finished first in the South at 20-4, followed by the Red Deer Queens and Ambrose Lions, both at 16-8.

Ambrose will host the ACAC Championship Feb. 21-23.

Women’s basketball

The Medicine Hat Rattlers women’s basketball team moved one step closer to an ACAC South Division title with a 58-57 victory over the Trojans on Saturday at SAIT.

After trailing by 12 at the half, the Rattlers surged into control with a commanding 23-5 third quarter before holding off a late push to lock up their second straight victory.

Kendell Kuntz led the offence with 17 points while Kristen Skjonsby added seven rebounds.

SAIT’s Martina Allen posted and 10 rebounds in the loss, while Melanie Thera added 13 boards and 10 points.

The win moves Medicine Hat to 17-3 with one game left in the regular season – Friday at the Snake Pit against the 13-7 St. Mary’s Lightning.

A victory Friday – or a loss from the 15-4 Olds Broncos, who take on 13-6 Lethbridge in back-to-back home games over the weekend- would clinch top spot in the South for Medicine Hat.

SAIT slipped to 5-15 with the loss.

Men’s basketball

The Medicine Hat Rattlers men’s basketball team will have to wait to clinch a playoff berth following an 82-72 loss to the Trojans on Saturday at SAIT.

Kieron Burgess put up 24 points and added 23 rebounds to help keep the pace, but it wasn’t enough to knock the Trojans off a six-game winning streak.

John Smith powered SAIT to victory with a 43-point performance while Nicholas Molina added a team-high nine rebounds.

The Rattlers sit second in the ACAC South at 12-8 with one game left in the regular season, but with just four points separating Medicine Hat from the fifth-place Lethbridge Kodiaks – who hold one game in hand – the Rattlers will need to wait a few days for another shot at locking up a playoff berth.

The Rattlers host the St. Mary’s Lightning (6-14) in their regular season finale on Friday at 8 p.m.