Lions beat rival Queens in 5 sets to claim 5th place

It was unsure what kind of starting lineups each team would play with this being the 5th / 6th placing game.  The one change for the Lions was Kelsey Olsen got the start over Ali Leskow.  She took big advantage of this playing time and showed well throughout the game and ultimately was awarded with the player of the game award. Not uncommon for the Lions, they found themselves trailing in the first set 8-4.  The Lions would fight back to make tie game at 16's, however a late push by Red Deer had them win 25-21. 

These 2 teams have had a lot of history against each other this year as they played each other in 4 matches.  The Queens won 3 out of the 4 games they played.   This was huge going into the playoffs as both teams ended the year with identical records so Red Deer got the 2nd seed in the south and what could have been an easier matchup in the semifinals.   

In the 2nd set, it was another tight game as the teams had some long rallies thanks to outstanding play by both teams' liberoes.  Ultimately the Lions would get the best of the Queens this set winning 25-23. 

The 3rd set saw much of the same, 2 even teams fighting for every advantage they could get.   At 18-18, the Queens took advantage of a few Lions mistakes to put the pressure on.  A huge dig by Flewell would set up a backrow kill by Boone and an ace by Kerr, followed by a block from Lewington, would put the Lions up 21-20.   A timely block and tip by Jade Van Dyke would get the Queen to set point at 24-22.  A miscue by the Lions would lead to the Red Deer College Queens winning the 3rd set.

In the 4th set it was the Lions turn to get out to a 4-0 lead, thanks to serving from Sarah Janz.  Through the set, the Queens would be the ones to chip away at the lead Ambrose had built up.  With a 14-13 lead Colin Kubinec would take his first time out to try to end the momentum the Queens built up thanks to Jade Van Dyke's serving run.  Tied at 20-20, it would again come down to who could execute down the stretch.  Both teams had a match point, but it was the Lions who would capitalize winning the 4th 26-24.

The Lions would play their 3rd – 5 set match in 3 days and would get off to a 4-1 lead.  At the technical timeout the Lions would lead 8-6 and get their lead to 11-8 before Chris Wandler would take a timeout. Boone and Olsen would take advantage of their playing time and come up clutch as the Lions inched closer to 15.  An ace by Britt Davis brought the game into question at 13-12, however the Lions were able to pull it out 15-13.