For one of the first times in history of The King's University, Men's and Women's Volleyball teams at The King's University are both nationally ranked on the CCAA leaderboard at the same time. The leaderboards were released February 15, 2022.
In the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference both teams have secured a spot in Conference Playoffs, even though one last regular season home match stands to be played on Thursday, February 24, 2022 versus Grand Prairie.
Men's Volleyball
This week MVB dropped one spot on the National Leaderboard chart from last week after a close fifth set loss to the Keyano Huskies. In the North, only the Eagle's (ranking no. 12 in the country) cross town rivals, NAIT Ooks (ranking no. 3), are ahead of TKU MVB in the National Rankings. On February 4 and 5th, 2022 the battle of the birds took place and both teams captured 3-1 wins on separate nights, creating an even split in points for the weekend between NAIT and TKU.
"Both of our matches against NAIT were playoff-like atmospheres", says third year outside hitter Tanner Piers. "I believe we are a team with lots of skill and talent. If we can defeat a team such as the Ooks (no. 3 ranked in the country) and work hard in this next couple of weeks of training, I know we can make a push for Nationals."
Women's Volleyball
On the women's side, the Eagles have hit the leaderboard for the first time this year ranking no. 13 in the country. The women's team recently just defeated the no. 9 ranked Lakeland Rustlers on Thursday, February 10, 2022 in Rustler territory.
Second year Jordan Betsworth comments, "Our team is rising at the right time. We have been putting lots of hard work in this whole season and we are finally seeing the results and the payoff leading into playoffs. It's great to have the support from the King's community, as our family, friends and members from the university have been a huge part of our team's success".
Conference Play
In the conference, both teams are leaving their marks in the league and have branded TKU in the ACAC world of leaderboards. MVB is ranked second in the North, while WVB has secured a ranking of third.
MVB | Jayden Hiebert and Tanner Piers (MVB) are number one and two respectively for their hitting efficiency in the ACAC. First year setter Mason Gorski (MVB) has steadily remained the top of the North charts for assists per set.
WVB | On the women's side, Lauren Kroetsch takes first place in hitting efficiency in the ACAC, while second year Sam Lieuwen (WVB) is currently holding fourth. Rookie libero, Katie Wood (WVB) is making her name known sitting in third place in digs per set.
Game Day
Ethan Soltys, Game Day Coordinator, comments "It has been great to have athletics back in person, and to see both our MVB and WVB reach the CCAA charts this week shows that our coaches and athletes took the forced break from Coronavirus as an opportunity to strengthen their skills to be the best they can. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season shapes up as they both prepare for their push in playoffs."
Playoff Matches
Both teams are set to play their first playoff matches the weekend of March 4, 2022. Stay tuned for more information regarding date, time, opponent
