The second-ranked team in the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, the Clippers actually dropped a set in their opener against the SAIT Trojans at Margaret P. Reimer gymnasium on Friday night before rebounding for a 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-17, 25-15) win.
Rebecca Garner hammered out 12 kills to lead the Clippers, while Mikayla Benterud put together seven kills on only 14 attempts while also racking up seven aces with her serve. Kristy Kindrachuk had 15 digs on defence.
There were no such difficulties in the second game Saturday, as Briercrest won 3-0 in as commanding fashion as you'll see in the ACAC, taking a 25-15, 25-16, 25-14 sweep.
Garner was all but unstoppable, putting down 18 kills on 28 attempts and adding 14 digs. Faith Buhler, was 10-for-16 in kills; Kindrachuk had 15 digs, Ashley Erickson 11 to go along with 31 assists.
The Clippers improved to 10-0 and lead the South Division by five points over Red Deer.
Briercrest's women's basketball team have yet to be defeated on the court, but player eligibility issues have cost them a pair of games in the standings, with wins over Ambrose College and SAIT overturned.
That didn't change results this weekend, though, as they battled to 76-72 and 93-73 wins over Red Deer College.
The CCAA 10th-ranked Clippers had 36 points from Angenay Williams to lead the offence Friday, while Amber Tilcox added 14 and Sydney Segroves 12. The Clippers led 42-26 at half and 63-50 through three quarters before the Queens rallied late to make things close.
The Clippers were having one of that in the rematch, though, leading by 10 at half before extending their lead to 19 through three quarters.
Williams had an even more impressive showing with 39 points including four three pointers. Hope Jordens picked up 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Segroves had 10 points and nine assists to go along with 10 points and nine rebounds from Tilcox.
Briercrest is now 5-2 and sit in second place in the South.
It was a bit of the good and a bit of the bad for the Clippers' men's volleyball team as they lost 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21) to SAIT in their opener in Caronport but rebounded the following afternoon with a 3-1 (25-15, 24-26, 25-13, 34-32) win in the rematch.
Bryton Codd racked up 12 kills in the opener, with Karym Coleman adding 11 and Brady Wachtel 17 digs.
Coleman put down 19 kills and 10 digs on Saturday; Codd had 14 kills and 10 digs. Wachtel added 23 digs to his team-leading total, Davis Borden also had a solid defensive game with 14 digs.
The Clippers are now 6-4 and hold down fourth place in the ACAC South Division.
Briercrest might not have come away with a win in men's basketball this weekend, but the Red Deer Kings knew they were there after battling to 87-85 and 89-83 wins.
The opener was as close as could be, with Red Deer hitting a buzzer-beater to take the victory after the Clippers battled back from a 19-point deficit to tie the game late.
Brandon Tolentino had 22 points to lead Briercrest, while Moose Jaw product and Central grad Riley Seaborn had his best game in a Clippers uniform, scoring 10 points. June Shepherd-Hills also had a 10 point outing.
The Clippers got off to a solid start on Saturday, putting up 27 points and leading by three after the first quarter, but Red Deer would take the lead by halftime and hold on for the win.
Briercrest was without standout C.J. Greer after he suffered an injury in the opener.
Tolentino let the offence again, scoring 24 points and adding 12 rebounds while finishing four assists short of a triple double. Kyle Helsloot and Shayne Foster had 11 points each; Seaborn added eight in 21 minutes off the bench.
The Clippers are now 2-5 and sit six points out of a playoff spot in the South.
Briercrest's run in men's hockey didn't get any easier on the weekend, as they took on second place Red Deer (10-1-1-0) on the road and dropped 7-1 and 8-2 decisions.
The Kings led 4-0 after the first and 5-0 through two before Jamieson Ree scored on the power play with 1:12 remaining to snap the Red Deer shutout bid.
Dan Dekoning turned aside 39 shots in goal, the Clippers had 17 on the Kings.
The second contest saw Jarret Marks score with 8:45 gone in the first period, cutting into a two goal Red Deer lead, but the Kings would take a 4-1 edge out of the first and lead 6-1 through two.
Ree would again score on the power play late, this time with eight seconds to play, to close out scoring.
Dekoning had a busier game in goal with 43 saves, the Kings faced 21.
The Clippers are now 3-7-1-0 and sit tied for the sixth and final playoff spot.
