Weekend Recap: Kodiaks battle through adversity

The Kodiaks volleyball and futsal teams had an intense weekend of action on the road.

The Kodiaks men’s volleyball team is coming home with silver medals after playing in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Championships hosted by Lakeland College.

The Kodiaks futsal teams travelled to Olds to play in their second South Regional of the season. The women clinched a playoff spot while the men’s team wrapped up their season.

Men’s volleyball

Feb. 20 MVB | Quarterfinal | Kodiaks 3 vs NAIT Ooks 0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23)

In the first round of the men’s volleyball ACAC championships, the Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks faced off against the NAIT Ooks. This has been the tournament’s quarterfinal matchup for the past three years with NAIT historically winning. The Kodiaks kept that in mind as they prepared for Friday’s match. The Kodiaks started on a high note and took control of the first set. They carried the momentum into the second and third sets as they were able to handle the pressure NAIT put on them with their late pushes. Ben St. Pierre (fourth year, Open Studies, Red Deer) executed a great game plan, spreading out the offensive and providing his hitters with the best scoring opportunities. One of those hitters, Nolan Moes (fifth year, Natural Resource Compliance, Barrhead, Alta.), had an outstanding well-rounded game for the Kodiaks which led them to a quarterfinal victory.

Player of the match:

LPK: #14 Nolan Moes

Feb. 21 MVB | Semifinal | Kodiaks 3 vs Keyano Huskies 2 (23-25, 25-27, 25-18, 25-23, 19-17)

In the highlight match of the tournament, the Kodiaks faced off against the Keyano College Huskies in the semifinal round of the championship. The Huskies were the first and only team to hand the Kodiaks a loss on their home court during the regular season. The Kodiaks started off shaky but managed to stay with the Huskies as the points went back and forth. Keyano managed to get the edge over Lethbridge in the first two sets, winning both by just two points. In the third set, the Kodiaks were roaring with energy, they controlled the match and managed to stay calm amidst the chaos and intensity. The Kodiaks shut down the Huskies’ middle and ACAC player of the year Athus Silva, forcing them to go with second options. The fourth set saw another push from the Kodiaks who edged out the Huskies for a fifth set. Lethbridge was rolling in the fifth, keeping the lead in a tight back and forth battle. The team saw a hiccup at 13-10 that allowed Keyano to close the gap and take the lead. The Kodiaks managed to grind their way point by point for a fifth set reverse sweep victory over the No. 1 seed in the North.

Ben Dyck (second year, Agriculture Sciences, Lethbridge) earned player of the game honours and had a standout game for the Kodiaks, playing like a true vet. He kept the Kodiaks consistent through his all-around level of play and gave the Kodiaks the lead late in the fifth set with his serving.

Player of the match:

LPK: #9 Ben Dyck

Feb. 22 MVB | final | Kodiaks 1 vs Red Deer Kings 3 (23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 18-25)

The Kodiaks faced the No. 1 team in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings in the finals. Red Deer came into the match well rested as they swept both championship games prior. On the other hand, Lethbridge played an intense five-set match the night before. Kings’ fans flooded the stands in support throughout the weekend and there was no shortage during the gold medal match. The Kodiaks didn’t get off to the best start but they kept it competitive as they fell 25-23. They regrouped and found some fight as they took charge in the second set with stellar kills from Ethan Nashim (fifth year, Open Studies, Lac La Biche, Alta.) on the right side. The Kodiaks continued to battle hard and left everything they had left on the court as they dropped the next two sets. The Kodiaks were awarded a silver medal for their efforts.

Player of the match:

LPK: #3 Ethan Nashim

Following the gold medal match, ACAC representatives handed out tournament all-star awards for excellence shown throughout the last three days of play. The Kodiaks had three student-athletes honoured: Nolan Moes, Ben Dyck and Ethan Nashim.

Women’s futsal

Feb. 22 WFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 1 vs AMB 0

Feb. 22 WFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 0 vs SAIT 10

Feb. 23 WFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 5 vs OC 2

Feb. 23 WFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 5 vs RDP 4

The Kodiaks women’s futsal team entered their second South Regional with the goal of qualifying for this year’s ACAC Championships hosted by Lakeland College. Their matches on day two against the Olds College Broncos and the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens pushed them up in the standings and into third place, allowing them to clinch a playoff spot. They will be travelling to Lloydminster March 7 to 9 to compete.

Comments from head coach Sean Carey:

“The team knew the job that needed to be done going into the weekend. We needed to win two out of the four games to qualify for championships and they succeeded our goal by winning three.”

“The effort put in from every player contributed to the team’s success on the weekend. Captain and local player Gracee Valgardson leading her team defensively and offensively scoring vital goals and boosting team moral brought everyone to the level that we needed. First year locals Hazel Baumbach and Jadyn Hoy scoring winning goals against RDP added even more drive and heart behind the team successes.”

Men’s futsal

Feb. 22 MFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 4 vs AMB 6

Feb. 22 MFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 7 vs SAIT 12

Feb. 23 MFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 2 vs OC 5

Feb. 23 MFUT | South Regional #2 | Kodiaks 4 vs RDP 9 

The Kodiaks men’s futsal team had hopes of improving their standings at the second South Regional. They faced a challenging weekend against tough teams and ultimately went 0-4. With that outcome, the Kodiaks’ season comes to an end as they did not manage to qualify for this year’s championships.

Comments from head coach Sean Carey:

“The guys struggled to find their chemistry this weekend and we didn't get the results that we were hoping for. Defensively our team was exposed and had some tough games. They stuck to the true Kodiak mind set and never got their heads down and continued to persevere and push through to the end.”