Lakeland Comes back from 2 down to beat Host Rattlers.
The Lakeland Rustlers faced off against the Host Medicine Hat College Rattlers in the second consolation game. The first set opened with the teams trading side-outs early. The Rustlers gained an early lead but the Rattlers battled back to match them at 6. The Rattlers were able to pull ahead slightly with 3 straight points going up 9-7. The Rattlers scored 2 more quickly to open up a 4 point margin with special help from Megan Hoeber net play. The Rattlers added one more and the Rustlers took a timeout to regroup. Lakeland scored out of the break, but the Rattlers maintained their lead scoring right away. the Rustlers put together two that looked like it could turn into a run, but the Rattlers were able to answer and maintain a smaller lead. The Rattlers led 18-14 as the set entered the late stages not a safe lead by any stretch, but the Rattlers continued to match any Lakeland point. A big Megan Hoeber kill for the Rattlers regained their 6 point lead, forcing the Rustlers to take a timeout. With the score 22-16 the Rattlers looked to just trade side-outs to finish off the set. The teams did just this for the next few points as the Rattlers took the first set 25-19.
The Rattlers opened the second set with two quick points. the Rustlers responded but another Rattlers side-out saw them keep their lead. this quickly evaporated and the teams found themselves tied at 4. A pair of side-outs and the score was tied at 5 as the score quickly flip flopped up the board. The Rattlers earned their 2 point lead back going up 10-8 with the help of some solid defense. The lead was short lived as the Rustlers came storming back to take a 13-12 lead. An ace from Rustler Madison Blain saw the visitors establish their own 2 point advantage quickly. Medicine Hat came back to erase this quickly and tie it at 16. The Rattlers took the lead before the Rustlers tied it up at 17. The set remained tied at 18 with the Rattlers serving as the set moved into the final stages. The Rattlers scored on serve and re took the advantage late in the set. They extended again on a huge block that saw the gym erupt going up 21-19 forcing Lakeland to take a timeout. The Rattlers missed their serve coming out of the break, but still held a tiny advantage. The Rustlers erased this tying the set at 21. The Rattlers rung up 2 straight and took a 23-21 lead at a crucial point in the set. Megan Hoeber once again dominated the net and helped the Rattlers take a 24-21 lead. the Rustlers called a timeout and were able to score out of the break but a quick side-out saw the Rattlers take set 2 25-22.
The third set started with the Rattlers again scoring 2 quick points to take an early lead. Medicine Hat added on with a Brooke Christie kill. The Rustlers battled back quickly scoring 2 of their own to cut the deficit to 1 before the Rattlers could score again. They once again restored a 3 point lead extending it to 4 on the next play, up 6-2. The Rustlers came right back with 3 straight of their own to trail by 1. The Rattlers were able to maintain the 2 point lead with a few great digs. The Rattlers score again quickly but the game was moving back and forth quickly. The Rattlers went up 11-7 as the set moved into the middle stage. The Rustlers quickly scored 2 and cut the lead in half. Lakeland scored again and moved within one of the before a Rattler error saw the set tied at 11. Holding the momentum, the Rustlers took the lead before the Rattlers could answer to tie it at 12. Lakeland was able to edge a small 2 point lead up 15-13 with the help of some Rattler errors and poor attacking. Down 16-13 the Rattlers took their first timeout in an effort to regroup and quickly. Lakeland was able to score coming out of the break and extended their lead. Winning the next 2 points the Rattlers started to chip away at the Lakeland lead. The Rustlers came right back to re-gain their advantage and extended it to 5, going up 21-16 and forcing the Rattlers to take a timeout. The Rattlers scored coming out of the timeout twice to cut the lead down but the Rustlers answered and still held a large lead late. Another Rattler error saw the Rustlers lead 23-19. The Rustlers score 2 quick points and took the set 25-19 trailing 2 sets to 1.
The fourth set started with a big Rattlers block to hold serve for the first point before the Rustlers answered and served an ace to take a 2-1 lead. Another ace and the Rustlers had a 4-1 lead quickly. Lakeland held on to their lead as the score moved out of the beginning stages of the set, up 6-3. The Rustlers continued to dominate early going up 9-4 and seeing the Rattlers bring in another hitter to try and swing momentum. down 4-10 the Rattlers used a timeout early in an effort to stem the bleeding. The Rattlers came out of the break to come up with a big block and start to change the momentum of the game. They were not running away with it, but the Rattlers were slowly chipping away. with the score 11-9, the Rattlers had got it back within 2 when a Dryden Gris Ace brought the Rattlers within 1. The Rustlers answered, but the game was much closer than it was a short time ago. The score read 14-15 with the Rattlers just trailing by one working their way back in the set. Seeing this, the Rustlers started to pull away again, going up 18-14 with not much time in the set. this forced the Rattlers to take their second timeout. The Rustlers scored first coming out of the break increasing their lead to 5. Now 20-15, the Rustlers had a commanding lead late in the set, the Rustlers only needed to cruise to win the set and tie the match up. The Rattlers would not roll over through, fighting for every point. Medicine Hat narrowed the lead to 2, 21-23 and forced Lakeland to take a timeout. The Rattlers scored out of the break and trailed by only 1. The Rustlers were able to pull out a 25-22 fourth set victory evening the match at 2 sets each.
The fifth set started with a Rustlers Ace and a win on a long rally to take a 2-0 lead. the Rattlers answered back with a quick 2 of their own to tie it up at 2. The set was tied again at 3 after another trading of side-outs. The Rustlers held serve and took advantage of 2 Ratter errors to open up a 6-3 lead in the crucial 5th set. Lakeland scored again and took a stranglehold on the set. Medicine Hat did not give up but trailed 8-4 at the court switch. The Rattlers scored first out of the swap and a big block saw the gym erupt even with the Rattlers down 8-6. The Rustlers were able to side-out and led 9-6 nearing the end of the set. Down 10-7 Medicine Hat took their first timeout hoping to swing the momentum back in their direction. The Rattlers were victims of an unfortunate wrong call costing them a point at a crucial juncture in the game. losing the re-serve point the Rustlers were able to go up 11-7 instead of the score being 10-8. Lakeland used this to score the next point going up 12-7 and forcing Medicine Hat to take their second timeout. Lakeland scored out of the break and took a 14-7 lead. The Rustlers completed the comeback coming from 2 sets down to win 3-2 taking the final set 15-8.
The ACAC Players of the game were Orianna Hyndman for Lakeland and Shaya Suchy for MHC.