Red Deer Polytechnic’s Kings and Queens had another busy weekend. This weekend volleyball and hockey returned to the schedule.

Here’s a look at how the weekend played out: 

Volleyball 

Both the Kings and Queens saw the Olds College Broncos on Friday, October 13th. 

It took just three sets for the newly revamped Queens Volleyball team to defeat the Olds College Broncos. But it was a slow start for the team as they struggled to find a groove in the opening set but still managed to pull away with a 26-24 victory over the Broncos. In the next two sets (25-14, 25-16), the Queens made quick work of Olds College to earn their first win of the season. 

The Kings managed to make quick work of the Olds College Broncos as they would take the first set 25-10. But the Broncos bounced back to take the next two sets (26-24, 25-20) to put the Kings on the brink of defeat. After a couple of key substitutions from Head Coach Aaron Schulha, the Polytechnic would walk away with a 25-22 set win on their way to defeating the Broncos in the fifth set 15-10. 

Hockey

The Queens were up against the Lakeland College Rustlers on Friday and Saturday (October 13th and 14th). Unfortunately, they saw two defeats. 

In Lloydminster, the Queens had the lead twice but could not hold on to it with the Rustlers offense finding the equalizer every time the Polytechnic took the lead. After tying it up at two in the third period, the Rustlers would score two consecutive goals to take the game 4-2. 

The following night, the Queens fought to end their weekend with a win but came up short as they fell to the Rustlers 2-1. 

The Kings saw the University of Alberta- Augustana Vikings on Friday and Saturday (October 13th and 14th) and also fell to the team in back-to-back games. 

The Kings offence was held to just one goal in their home opener on Friday night but the Vikings scored one in the first and two in the third to start their season with a win. 

The following night, the Kings offence was firing on all cylinders. They managed to get five goals from five different goal-scorers, but Augustana would score three consecutive goals in the third period to take the lead. The Kings would find the equalizer with minutes left to play to send it to overtime but a Vikings player would complete the hat trick to seal a 6-5 victory in Camrose. 

Soccer 

The Kings and Queens saw the SAIT Trojans on Sarurday, October 14th and the Olds College Broncos on Sunday, October 15th. 

Still with a very short bench due to injuries, the Queens were in for a very tough game against a SAIT Trojans team that had only lost one game all season long and that remained the case. The Trojans would score five on the way to their 10th victory of the season. 

The Queens would follow this up with a huge win against the Olds College Broncos with striker Anessa Harrod (Open Studies) scoring twice which included the game-winning goal in the 19th minute of the match. Midfielder Erica Navarro (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) would add a goal in the late stages of the second half to seal a 3-0 victory. 

The Kings started their weekend off with a bang as they defeated the SAIT Trojans, the number two team in the country, on Saturday with a 2-1 final. 

They would follow this match up with a 1-1 draw against the Olds College Broncos. 

Cross Country 

At the end of the Grand Prix series, the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and Queens earned the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Grand Prix title in each of their respective divisions after yet another amazing race from both teams. 

It was a close race for the title in both the men’s and women’s divisions following the final Running Room Grand Prix of the season hosted in Camrose by the University of Alberta-Augustana Vikings. The Queens defeated the SAIT Trojans by a slim three-point margin but the men’s standings were much closer with the Kings coming out on top with a one-point advantage over the Trojans as well. 

The Queens were led by Justine Larson (Bachelor of Education) yet again with an eighth place finish but she was pressured by three of her teammates, Myah Cota (Open Studies), Georgia Sawchuk and Zoey Longman who finished right behind Larson in ninth, tenth and eleventh. Following the win, Longman raced back to Red Deer to join the Queens Basketball team as they took on the NAIT Ooks. The Polytechnic defeated the Ooks 53-34 in their final tune-up game before the regular season starts next week Friday. 

As for the Kings, Ben House (Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences) finished in fourth place but not long after him, Dan Szucs (Bachelor of Business Administration) crossed the finish line right after House. After an impressive finish two weeks ago, Coen finished his final race before the ACAC Championships in seventh place. 

The Kings and Queens will have next week off to prepare for the ACAC Championships which will take place on Saturday, October 28 in Lethbridge on the same course the two teams ran just two weeks ago today. 

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