Rustlers win second national v-ball title

have is, we just needed them to miss a couple allowing our serve receive to settle in and get the ball moving forward and gain confidence that way.”

For Rustlers captain and veteran middle, Kaylie Lueck, Saturday’s match was one she and the team were waiting for.

After winning their second national collegiate volleyball title since the 2016-17 season, the best way to describe the team as a whole is humble.

After an unbelievably near-perfect season, the Rustlers headed to Nanaimo B.C. for the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) final last week after beating the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens in the Alberta Collegiate Athletic Conference (ACAC) championship on Feb. 25.

Throughout three days of championship play, the Rustlers went 3-0 against the Rouges de Saint-Boniface on Wednesday, 3-1 against the Humber Hawks on Thursday, and 3-0 on championship Saturday against the Camosun Chargers.

“Going into the final, the only thing I was a little worried about was how aggressive they served,” said head coach Austin Dyer. “If they were able to have a match where they didn’t miss, they could have beaten anybody with the style of serving they have.

“They’re big, they’re athletic, they have the pieces to put a lot of pressure on a team if they’re out-of-system ... but with how risky the style of serving they

“It was a day we had been waiting for since last year, so there were some jitters going into it, but as soon as we got out there and started doing our thing, everything came naturally,” she said.

In Lueck’s opinion, a big aspect of the win came down to volleyball IQ.

“The way Austin gets us ready for the games, the way we prepare, we’re sitting watching other teams play and we’re picking apart their play … we know we’re smart players, and our volleyball IQ is a lot higher than some teams.”

Fifth-year outside hitter Jenay Varga not only had a phenomenal tournament, but she also had a great season and lead the ACAC in kills with 229, averaging 4.09 per set. Varga also led the league in aces-perset with 0.80 and had the third-highest hitting percentage with .491.

“It was very different than what we’ve done so far, just that higher level of play, so it was a cool experience,” said Varga.

“A national title is a pretty cool little brag to have … a humble brag,” she added with a laugh.

Other seasonal-league Rustler records include outside hitter Avery

Bates, who had the second-highest hitting percentage in the league ahead of Varga with a .496.

The Rustlers also dominated the season in aces per set with Lueck finishing behind Varga with 0.63, Lana Matthews finishing fourth overall with 0.56, and setter Jana Laing finishing fifth with 0.49.

Laing also claimed the top spot for assists per set with 9.58.

Coach Dyer was also honoured with not only the ACAC women’s volleyball Coach of the Year award, but he also won the CCAA Coach of the Year, something he chalks up to his team.

“At the end of the day it was an award given to me, but in my opinion, it’s a team award,” he said. “It’s an award given to me because of the team I have. For me, it’s about our team being good enough to allow me to win such an award.”