Kings Volleyball looking for redemption in their upcoming season

But they were about to face their biggest opponent yet, the Briercrest College Clippers who went into the finals on fire, knocking off all the higher seeds they faced at the championship.

Briercrest took the first two sets which happened to go north of 30 points in each of the games. As the Kings’ season was on the line, they battled and took the third set. In the fourth set and like the rest of the match, the Kings had no answer for All-Canadian Karym Coleman, who was later named Tournament MVP. Ultimately, the Polytechnic fell in the fourth set and came up short of their 2022/2023 goals, coming home with a silver medal.

Schulha explained he returned most of last year’s group so there will be a lot of motivation going into the season but also a ton of internal battles throughout the year.

“I think when the guys buy into the process where our biggest battles should be against each other on a daily basis then come weekend time they can just go off as they already have played their toughest competition.”

The Kings were able to return outside-hitter Colby Nemeth (Bachelor of Commerce), middle-blocker Spencer Purdie (Open Studies) and Carlson for the upcoming season.

Nemeth won a South Division All-Conference award and put up big numbers, specifically from the service line as he finished with 39 service aces. Purdie is a 6’8 middle-blocker who was a big net presence for the team. Schulha, who is heading into his 15th season as the head coach, believes his big middle can be one of the leading blockers in the ACAC.

Lastly, Carlson really solidified himself as someone who needs to be on the court. During the regular season, he finished with 106 kills which placed him in the top 10 in the ACAC, among players who played most of the season. But at the ACAC Championship, he took on a bigger load and put away a total of 58 kills in three matches which put Carlson near the top of the playoff leaderboard in this statistic.

On top of the returnees, the Kings Head Coach said the four players he recruited for this season will be important for the team moving forward and all could be very big throughout the year.

“Tom Wass is a veteran setter. He has been there and knows what it takes to win at the ACAC level. But he also knows how hard it hurts to lose in those big provincial and national-level matches. Carter Hills was an ACAC Rookie of the Year in 2020 and is extremely explosive. He is left-handed but can play both sides of the court. Owen Langberg is a first-year middle who stands tall at 6’5 and has done a good job of getting a lot of touches on blocks so far this year. Libero Austin Ly is super quick defensively and will make a dynamic duo with the fifth-year libero JJ Graham.”

Putting these pieces together, Schulha believes the Kings will be a tough team to beat but they have to make sure they check their ego at the door and play for the team not for the big kill, service ace or play. The coaching staff has made that pretty clear to this group if the Kings want to have any chance of raising the ACAC banner and moving on to Victoria where the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Men’s Volleyball Championship will be hosted.

The Kings first match of the season will be against the Olds College Broncos on October 13 at 8 pm in the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre. The Broncos managed to defeat the Kings in a five-set thriller in their last meeting and will host the 2024 ACAC Championship in February.

Tickets for their season and home opener can be purchased online.

For more information on the Kings Volleyball upcoming season, including their team roster and schedule, please go to rdpolytechathletics.ca.

by RDP Athletics

Kings Volleyball looking for redemption in their upcoming season

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