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Trojans & Huskies to play for gold, Rattlers wind up season Saturday

Feb 24, 2018 | 12:16 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Two teams remain in the quest for ACAC men’s volleyball supremacy following a pair of semi-final matches at Medicine Hat College.

It will be a battle of the top-seeded teams in the provincial tournament final, as the SAIT Trojans and the Keyano College Huskies punched their tickets with big semi-final victories on Friday.

SAIT was able to sweep the Briercrest Clippers in three sets in the first semi-final match, advancing with a 25-21, 28-26, 25-21 win.

Three Trojans posted kills in the double-digits with Spencer Coulter (14), Tyler Latu’lla (11), and Trent Mounter (11) leading the way.

Awaiting their opponent in the finals, the Trojans watched as the Huskies and the Lethbridge College Kodiaks did battle in the second semi-final.

The North Division champion Huskies earned a 25-21 win in the opening set to take the lead, but Lethbridge was quick to tie the match up with a 25-23 victory in the second set.

The Kodiaks jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third set and held the momentum, but Keyano College found their rhythm and eventually edged out Lethbridge for a 25-22 win.

A 7-1 run in the fourth proved to be the back breaker, as the Huskies sealed a 25-15 win to take the match in four sets.

Justin Delorme had a game-high 15 kills for Keyano, while Lethbridge’s Dax Whitehead wasn’t too far behind with 14 kills of his own.

With the wins, both the Trojans and Huskies have clinched berths at the 2018 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association National Championships.

But with an ACAC title on the line, SAIT and Keyano College will do battle at Medicine Hat College in the championship final on Saturday at 7:30 pm.

The host Medicine Hat College Rattlers won’t have a shot at nationals, but will get to close out their season in style after a key victory over the King’s University Eagles on Friday.

Medicine Hat rallied from a 25-19 opening set loss to the Eagles, using the hometown crowd to their advantage to win the next three sets and keep their season alive with a 3-1 win.

Hitter Vitor Pereira once again was the man driving the Rattlers offence with 16 kills, with Alfred Dalevik following closely behind with 10 kills of his own in the victory.

The Rattlers will play in front of the Medicine Hat faithful for the last time this season on Saturday afternoon, as they will take to the court against the Concordia University Thunder in the 5th/6th place game.

Opening serve between the Rattlers and Thunder is planned for 3:00 pm at the Snake Pit.