The Briercrest College Clippers women’s volleyball team will be playing for a medal at the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference championship.
The only question is which colour they’ll be playing for.
The Clippers posted a 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 25-23 victory over the University of Alberta Augustana at the ACAC tournament in Lethbridge on Thursday, and as a result will now face Ambrose College in the semifinal on Friday evening.
The win was a mild upset, as Briercrest came into the contest with a 12-7 record and a third-place finish in the South Division, while Augustana had a 16-3 regular season and finished second in the North.
Julia Beer led the way for the Clippers, putting down 19 kills and also recording 16 digs. Faith Buhler had 10 kills and Abigail Ulrich also hit defensive double digits with 10 digs. Moose Jaw product Summer Okerstrom had a kill and an assist.
The winner of the semifinal match will play for gold on Saturday evening, while the losers will play off for bronze earlier in the day.
The Clippers also received some good news prior to the game, as Beer, Buhler and Rachel Stead were all named ACAC All Conference, while Rhonda Schmuland was named the ACAC South Division coach of the year.
The Clippers women’s basketball team opened their playoff run in style with an 80-47 win over Ambrose College and are now a single victory away from the ACAC Final Four.
As the score would indicate, Briercrest had little difficulty on the night, leading 24-15 after the opening quarter and 49-32 at the half before outscoring Ambrose 22-5 in the third quarter.
Asia Wells topped all Clippers with 16 points and 10 rebounds, in addition to coming four assists short of a triple double. Melissa Ellis had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Brooklyn Martens also had 13 points.
Things don’t get any easier for Briercrest going forward, as they’ll now face the South Division’s top team in the Lethbridge Kodiaks, who posted an 18-3 mark in the regular season. That contest goes Saturday night in Lethbridge, with the winner advancing to the ACAC Final Four in Lethbridge during the Mar. 1 weekend.
The Clippers men’s basketball team didn’t have as much luck and saw their season come to an end with a 92-76 loss to the Red Deer Kings.
Briecrest came into the contest on an eight-game winning streak and were the favourites with a 14-7 record compared to Red Deer’s 12-9 mark, but they were unable to overcome a slow start and avoid the upset.
The Kings took a 24-17 lead out of the first quarter and led 51-35 at the half, and while the Clippers were able to close a bit of ground after the break, the deficit was too much to overcome.
Jude Shepherd-Hill led Briercrest with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Owen Sheperd-Hill scored 15 and Francis Dogani added 10. Moose Jaw’s Riley Seaborn scored seven, and fellow Central grad Kaedyn Banilevic picked up a rebound and an assist.
There will be a new men’s volleyball champion in the ACAC, after the Clippers fell in the first round of the championship tournament in Calgary.
It was a tough night in general for 15-4 Briercrest, who were unable to take a set off of 13-6 Lakeland College and dropped a 25-17, 25-16, 26-24 decision.
Karym Coleman -- who earlier in the day was named the ACAC South Division player of the year -- led the Clippers with 20 kills. Brady Watchel had 11 digs, while Jeremy Martens had 27 assists.
Coleman, libero Watchel, setter Martens and middle blocker Adam Revet were all named ACAC All Conference.
The Clippers now drop to the consolation side, where they face Old’s College on Friday afternoon. The winner there will play for fifth place on Saturday.
