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Stops and starts stagger Trojan second-half

Men’s volleyball head coach Ryan Marsden seems stuck at the drawing board as his squad holds a 3-3 record in the past six games.

The Trojans repeated their discouraging pattern in a pair of weekend games against the Grant MacEwan Griffins, winning the first game 3-1 on Jan. 29 but ceding the Jan. 30 game in a hard-fought 3-2 loss.

“The big thing we need to learn is not to take days off as a team,” said Marsden.

“Certain individuals stepped up and did their part, but as a group, we sometimes struggle with all showing up at the same time. We’ve made this very, very obvious - that it needs to be a complete team effort, or else we can’t do it ... now’s not the time to keep learning lessons,” he said. “We should already have been taught them.”

The Trojans are slated to take on the ACAC-ranked number one Red Deer College Kings for their final weekend of the season on Feb. 10, but Marsden is looking beyond a chance at the second-half pennant in favour of preparing for the big game.

“Ultimately, our focus is provincials. We’ve got to be the best we can at provincials,” said Marsden.

“And if that means we need to learn a few things now, then let’s quickly learn our lesson and let’s move on, and let’s be ready to go Feb. 26.”

SAIT will host the ACAC men’s provincial championship from Feb. 26 - 28 after the Trojans finished on top the south division.

As the semester break rolled around, the Trojans held an 8-2 record and maintained a healthy command of their division. However, they have been struggling to find a firm foothold in the elite ACAC provincial division. The Trojans currently sit at third under MRU and RDC after a couple of fortuitous losses elsewhere in the ACAC.
Marsden enters into the wading waters of provincials with a strong side, counting two league leaders on his lines. Kenny Rauwerda, a second-year power hitter, leads the ACAC in kills with an astounding 296 and a 4.77 average. Dustin Fox holds the top spot for blocks with a 0.65 average.
Perhaps the best course of action, said Marsden, came in encouraging the Trojans to look on the bright side for their Jan. 22 match against the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves. The Trojans won 3-1.
“Guys were happy, and enjoyed playing the game, not having to be so life-and-death about it all,” said Marsden. “It had a massive positive influence on teammates.
“That’s the way we need to be. ”

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