(Image Credit: RDP Athletics/Supplied)

By RDP Athletics

Top performers

RDP Athletes of the Week: March 13-15

Mar 18, 2026 | 9:24 AM

Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP) Athletics is very proud to announce Tora Ward (Queens Hockey) and Brett Lower (Kings Volleyball) as the Boston Pizza RDP Athletes of the Week:

Tora Ward – Queens Hockey

Program – Bachelor of Education (3rd)

Hometown – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Tora Ward, an Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) Women’s Hockey First All-Conference team selection, was one of the most valuable players in the ACAC Championship series between the Red Deer Polytechnic Queens and Lakeland College Rustlers.

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She led the RDP Queens to the final game of the best-of-five championship, where the Queens were edged 1-0 in overtime, earning an ACAC silver medal.

In game three, Saskatoon’s Ward made 19 saves as the Rustlers downed the Queens 3-1 in Lloydminster. Ward turned aside 22 of the Rustlers’ shots in game four at the Gary W. Harris Canada Games Centre. Lakeland College picked up a 5-1 decision.

In the final game, Ward, a Bachelor of Education student, gave the Queens a chance to win. She stopped 42 shots (0.977), but the Rustlers scored on the power play in overtime to seal the win.

Ward led the ACAC Women’s Hockey playoffs with 207 saves and a 0.941 save percentage. She ranked second in the postseason with a 1.84 goals-against average.

Brett Lower – Kings Volleyball

Program – Bachelor of Science in Nursing (5th)

Hometown – Red Deer, Alberta

Brett Lower, a Kings’ fifth-year outside hitter from Red Deer, delivered an outstanding performance at the 2026 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Men’s Volleyball National Championship in Edmonton.

He helped the Red Deer Polytechnic Kings go undefeated at the national championship, earning CCAA gold, the Kings’ 15th national title in program history.

In the quarter-finals, Lower contributed three kills, two service aces, two digs, one assist and a stuff block as the Kings downed the Humber Hawks (25-20, 25-18 and 25-14). He was named the 4imprint Kings Player of the Match.

Lower accumulated 10 kills (0.643), eight digs, two service aces, two assists and a stuff block in the Kings’ semi-final victory over the Vancouver Island University (VIU) Mariners (26-24, 26-24 and 25-20).

In the gold medal match, he totaled 12 digs, eight kills, two aces and one stuff block as the RDP Kings swept the College of the Rockies Avalanche (25-20, 25-20 and 25-23). Lower, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing student, was named the CCAA Championship Most Valuable Player.