Well after what felt like a lengthy break for fans but I’m sure was far too short for the players the Briercrest Athletics teams were back in action this weekend. Women’s volleyball was at home in The Hangar facing off against Mount Royal right now sitting at second place in the division. The girls would find themselves down early in the first set but veterans Aryn Lesher and Ashley Streuber would rally the team to tie the game at 11, with a big kill by Streuber and Lesher providing a key block and a nice set into the hole on the other side of the court. Good serving by Briercrest would keep the game even with two aces from both Bruce and the new Mrs. Carlee Quiring. The set would progress with the edge to Mount Royal and soon Briercrest was on the wrong side of a 24-20 score. With the set on the line, Carlee would crush a ball right between the block and on the subsequent play Streuber would come up with a big block causing a timeout from Mount Royal. Quiring continued her great set painting the far line with a shot and then with a crafty tip to tie the game at 24 to the delight of the hometown crowd. Unfortunately the girls couldn’t quite complete the comeback despite the strong push and the Cougars would take the set 26-24.
The next two sets wouldn’t go in the Clippers favor either both finishing 25-18, some highlights included a nice pancake by Reinhardt, and an amazing dig by Peterson off an untouched blast, one of her 18 digs on the day. Aryn Lesher had a couple of her patented sneaky sets followed by an impish grin as if she almost feels bad for making the other team look so foolish, almost. Ashley Streuber earned the game MVP with 11 digs, 4 kills and 3 blocks all coming against Mount Royal’s 6’3 middle each of which got a huge cheer from the crowd.

Saturday afternoon didn’t start well for the girls as Mount Royal carried a six point lead throughout most of the opening set eventually winning 25 – 16. Ariel Townsend stood out in the set however with four kills, an ace, and a great save in that set alone. The second set would start much better with Briercrest jumping out to an early lead off a couple blocks from Streuber, one of which was straight down into the face of an opponent, and two aces from Quiring. The Clippers would trade points and hold a lead through the middle of the set only to have Mount Royal go on an 11-1 run putting the girls in a big hole. The ladies weren’t done however and would push back with an ace from Bruce, a nice block from Lundquist and a monster kill from Reinhardt netting them three quick points but it wasn’t enough to take the set back.
Reinhardt would get the girls started on the right foot in the third set with a block, a kill, and some nice serving to establish a lead. Two kills from Townsend would extend the lead to 7-3. Mount Royal would push back though and take a lead but the ladies stood firm. Erin Anderson hit an absolute bomb through the block and Quiring had a big ace to tie the game at 13. The two teams would trade points for a while and Lesher would win a big battle at the net to keep it tied at 18. The ladies would pull away with nice blocks from Quiring and Streuber and a kill from Reinhardt would seal the deal, Briercrest taking the set 25-21. The momentum would carry over into the fourth, a kill and huge stuff by Anderson giving the ladies a 6-4 lead but Mount Royal would go on a 7-0 run and wouldn’t look back eventually taking the set 25-19. Townsend would earn the game star with 6 kills, 7 digs, a block and an ace.
Not the result the girls were hoping for, but two hard fought games against one of the leagues best teams gave the crowd an entertaining weekend of volleyball.