It was a good showing this past week for the Red Deer College Kings at the Canadian College’s Athletic Association National Volleyball Championship in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

The Kings, who finished the tournament tied with Ontario’s Humber College for fifth, opened play with a straight sets loss to Humber (23-25, 28-30, 22-25), meaning RDC couldn’t finish any higher than third.

“They (Humber) outworked and outplayed us in every aspect of the game and unfortunately they deserved to win the match more than we did,” Kings Head coach Aaron Schulha wrote in an email to local media after their opening contest.

“We had our opportunities in the first two sets but simply did not execute when it mattered.”

The Kings, with a bronze medal at Nationals now the goal, then took on Halifax’s University of the Kings College, beating the Blue Devils in straight sets (25-16, 25-9, 25-11), setting up a bronze medal semi-final versus Brier Crest, with the winner advancing to the bronze medal game.

Just like the ACAC championship, the Clippers bested the Kings, beating RDC in straight sets (16-25, 15-25, 26-28) advancing to the bronze medal game, and leaving the Kings tied for fifth.

“Unfortunately, they were the better team again and deserved to win,” said Schulha.

“It was a solid season for the Kings, considering the youth of the team as well as the many injuries we had to deal with this season. The physicality displayed by the top four teams in the country was a big eye opener for the guys returning next year and should be a motivator going into the off-season.”

Andy Inglis, who played his final game for the Kings against Brier Crest, was named the RDC Athlete of the Week for his performance at Nationals.

Filling in at middle for the injured Sean Tuff, Inglis put up 18 kills, four blocks, three aces and only three hitting errors over two and a half matches.

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