NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN Thundersky Walkingbear (7), of the Olds Broncos, has his shot blocked by Medicine Hat Rattlers Justice Lesuk and Jovan Stepanovic during an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference men's volleyball game at the Snake Pit on Saturday.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Tyler Olson is officially in the win column, but the Medicine Hat Rattlers player-turned-coach was even more thrilled with his team’s performance than the result.
Medicine Hat’s men’s volleyball team has faced a rocky road this season. Former head coach Mark Porter stepped away from the team in November, prompting women’s coach Kim Stonehouse to take over before Olson was hired on an interim basis to start December. Given everything the team has been through, Olson says he was thrilled by the way his Rattlers rebounded to take a four-set victory (25-14, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22) from the Olds Broncos on Saturday at the Snake Pit.
“A win is obviously nice but we’re making huge leaps and bounds as far as this team goes,” said Olson, who played three seasons in Medicine Hat after spending two at Olds College. “That’s what makes me most excited, is that these guys are responding pretty well and they’re working hard for me.”
The victory came less than 24 hours after the Broncos rallied to steal a five-set battle from Medicine Hat Friday — leaving the Rattlers near must-win territory entering Saturday’s rematch.
“It was imperative,” said Olson. “We capitalized on their mistakes today, we capitalized on our mistakes.”
Medicine Hat now sits tied with Olds for fifth in the ACAC South at 4-10 – eight points behind the Briercrest Clippers for the division’s fourth and final playoff spot with 10 games left in the season.
“People aren’t expecting what we have to bring,” said Olson. “We’re looking forward to one heck of an interesting season.”
Rattlers outside hitter Jovan Stepanovic says Olson seems to have brought a new level of energy to the team, and with it a new outlook on the season.
“I think he’s giving us great energy, great positive energy, and he can bring the best out of us,” said Stepanovic, one of three Serbian players on the team. “We’re kind of getting to that goal and we’re climbing up those stairs.”
Stepanovic – who had 12 kills and 10 digs in Saturday’s win – added Olson coaches from a perspective of understanding, holding players accountable but never hounding them for their mistakes.
“He’s super supportive, not just to me, to the rest of the team,” said Stepanovic. “He shows support to the bench, to the players on the court. When we make mistakes he’s super supportive and that means a lot.”
While Medicine Hat controlled the pace of Saturday’s first two sets, Olds rallied back into the contest with a strong performance in the third before falling just short in the fourth.
“We had a little bit of a lull and they just kept swinging,” said Olson. “They stuck to their game plan and they waited for holes in our game plan.”
Aleksa Zivic led the Rattlers with 19 kills in the victory while Nikola Sreckovic set up 35 and Ty Moline dug out 11.
Matheus Franca powered Olds’ comeback attempt with 10 kills, while Mason Muller assisted on 21. Franca and Jesse Stoddart each had six digs for the Broncos in the loss.
Women win in five
The Rattlers women’s volleyball team opened Saturday’s doubleheader with a wild five-set win (17-25, 25-19, 25-15, 23-25, 17-15) over Olds – pushing them to 8-6 on the season with their fourth straight victory.
Brooke Christie led the Rattler offence with 11 kills, while Molly Marie assisted on 29 and Shaya Suchy logged a career-best 30 digs on defence.
Tabitha Martin had 11 kills for Olds, Avery Gammel set up 29 and Francesca Sandini dug out 20.
The Rattlers hit the road Friday to open a home-and-home set with the Trojans at SAIT.
