The Briercrest Clippers took on the Medicine Rattlers and ended positively winning the first two sets and the fourth set (25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23). The Rattlers won the third set and fought hard and kept the score close at all times during all four of the sets. It was an exciting game for the fans and players and kept everyone on edge, since it had the potential to go either way!

The stands were full for the Briercrest Clippers and the beginning points were back and forth with neither Medicine Hat or Briercrest taking a strong lead. The first set was full of high pressure for both teams until the Rattlers sent it to the roof and called a time out and Briercrest began to gain the points they needed. Jonah Johnson gave his team the energy by hitting a huge ace. A few points later, the Rattlers returned an ace. At 19-15 for the home team, a time out was called. Briercrest began to get more of a run following their break and they ended the first set victoriously with a massive kill by Joel Rosewarn and the Rattlers finish with 18 points.

Set number two mirrored the first set in the sense that it was back and forth with each team picking up one point at a time. Zac Ens hit down an ace and got the team pumped, but the set remained to go point-to-point, the Rattlers leading by one, of course that appeared to be subject to change seeing as it could have been either team’s victory. The score reached 21-17 for Briercrest and they started getting a run with only one point remaining till the end of the set and the Rattlers sent off a serve too far and Briercrest won the second set by 7.

The third set started off a little unique with the Rattlers picking up a slight lead. The Rattlers continued to hold the lead with 14-8 and so Briercrest called a time out. For much of the set the four point lead was maintained until they began to get a huge run and hold the lead position with 22-13. The home team started to pick up some momentum, but were not able to catch up and the Rattlers won the third set 25-20.

The fourth set was high pressure for both teams and continued to move point by point. With a 7-8 score for Medicine Hat, Josh Wendel killed it and surged enthusiasm into the gym. The Rattlers quickly responded and continued to keep their one point lead until 10, where they reach another tie. After chasing after the Rattlers, a huge team block got Briercrest one point behind till their next point they win that caught them up to a tie of 21-21. The set neared the end with Briercrest leading Medicine Hat 24-23 and a time out was called that could determine the winner of the set and potentially match. The last point of the game was won by a block by Wedel and the Briercrest won the game with a final score of 25-23!

The player of the game for Medicine Hat was number Fraser Smith who had a total of 12 kills and for Briercrest was number two Zac Ens who led both teams with 16 kills, to go with 10 digs and a block. Other top performers for Briercrest were Carter Reimer with a game high 41 assists, Jonah Johnson with a game high two service aces, and Josh Wendel with a game high 15 digs and four blocks. Briercrest held the advantage in every statistical category; 49-46 for kills, 43-38 assists, 4-2 service aces, 61-46 digs, and 15-4 blocks.

The next game for the two teams is tomorrow, January 10^th at 3:00 in the Margaret P. Reimer Memorial gym!

If you are unable to make it out to support Briercrest live, access acac.tv where you can find the online broadcast there. For up to date information on the Briercrest volleyball team, “like” the Briercrest Volleyball facebook page.