Posted: Feb 27, 2024

2024 Women's Volleyball Championship Success

Calgary, AB | Ambrose Lions Women's Volleyball at 2024 Championships

The Ambrose Lions Women's Volleyball team traveled to Lethbridge College this past weekend for the 2024 Women's Volleyball Championships. They finished the tournament with a silver medal, making history for Ambrose Athletics.

The lions entered the weekend being ranked #1 in the South, and were nationally ranked thirteenth. The team was eager to perform at provincial weekend and finish off their season strong. The lions started the weekend celebrating a very successful regular season with the Championship Banquet, hosted in Lethbridge. Three Lions Athletes were awarded All Conference Awards; Rachel Barg (Aetters), Elise Wagner (Outside Hitters) and Willow Lewington (Middles). Willow Lewington was also chosen as the Overall, ACAC South Player of the Year. "Willow has been an integral part of the Ambrose Women's Volleyball Team since her arrival. A dominant middle in the league for many years, Willow has helped her team grow to be a strong championship-contending team. Bringing a calm, confident, and professional presence, Willow elevates the level of her teammates around her."

Quarter Finals (Full Recap):

The Lions started out their weekend with a convincing 3-0 victory over the Keyano Huskies (North #4) to open up the weekend on Thursday afternoon. With a slow start in the first set, with the lions trailing 23-20, to the Huskies, they gained confidence back and won the first set 26-24. "We had to settle down. They (Keyano) came out very strong but once we settled in and started playing our game, we started feeling pretty comfortable." - Barry Heidebrecht mentions. The second set was a tight one with the lions overtaking the Huskies with a 25-23 victory. The final set was a convincing 25-15 win, giving them a ticket to semi-finals. A big quarter final win against the Huskies gave them some momentum, heading into semis.

Game leaders:

Kills: Elise Wagner - 9

Blocks: Gracee Fehr - 7

Digs: 2 Players (#4, #16) - 12

Service Aces: Willow Lewington - 2

Player of the Game #13 Elise Wagner

Semi Finals (Full Recap)

The semi-finals was a nail biter, ending with one of the biggest come back wins for the lions. The semis were against the Briercrest Clippers (South #3), which the lions beat in regular season, 3-1 and 3-0. The lions were trailing 2 sets to 0 early on in the match. They were slowly gaining momentum as the sets progressed with 19-25 in the first and a 23-25 finish in the second. Coach Barry comments on their big win, "Our semi final win vs Briercrest was monumental. Briercrest was one of the teams that you could say was playing some of their best ball coming into provincials. We knew it would be a battle. Not expecting to be done 0-2, the girls stuck to the game plan and stayed composed. In the third set, as the lead grew, you could see the players confidence rising and were locked-in on making it to the final." The momentum progressed as the match went on with the lions winning the 3rd and 4th set 25-18 and 25-14. The final set was an extremely strong finish with the lions, opening up the set with a 5-0 run early on which then lead to an 11-1 deficit. The lions finished the set off with a 15-4 win, leading them to the Gold Medal game the following day. "For me (Barry Heidebrecht), I was very proud to see how the girls were dialed in and were not going to be outdone in this match. Its really hard to say that one player played extraordinarily and carried us. It was truly a team effort and all players contributed in one way or another to provide success in that match. It is also easy to compliment the players on the floor at that time but what everyone fails to remember is how EVERY single player on this roster worked relentlessly in each practice and in the weight room to get us here." says Coach Barry.

Game Leaders:

Kills: Elise Wagner - 14

Blocks: Willow Lewington - 7

Digs: Christina Bett - 21

Service Aces: 4 Players (#6, #11, #13, #16) - 2

Player of the Game: #11 Faith Solecki

Gold Medal Match (Full Recap)

The Lions entered the Gold Medal match, coming off of their 3-2 win against the Clippers in the previous evening, and were set to take on the 2022-23 CCAA National Champs, the Lakeland Rustlers (North #1). The first set started with the teams fighting back and forth and each being in the lead. The lions took the lead midway through the first set, but the Rustlers closed the set with the 18-25 win. The second set was back and forth with multiple service aces from either team, but ended with a 25-19 victory for the Rustlers. The third set was tight with the lions pushing hard throughout. #4 Christina Bett had outstanding defence for the lions with multiple digs, while Rachel Barg, lead the team with her many assists. Lakeland pressed on and finished the game with a 25-18 third set victory. After a hard fought game, the lions were walking away with a silver medal. The energy in the Lethbridge gym was electric, with Lions fans making the drive to support their team. "A huge thank you to the fans that came down to support us throughout the weekend. Amazing tournament ladies!!" Notes Coach Barry.

Game Leaders:

K: Willow Lewington - 9

B: 2 Players (#8, #11) - 2

D: Christina Bett - 20

SA: Elise Wagner - 3

Player of the Game: #4 Christina Bett

The championship tournament was a success. The Ambrose Lions made history this year with being the first Women's Volleyball team in Lions history to be awarded a medal. Two athletes were named tournament all stars; Willow Lewington and Elise Wager. Many Congratulations to this team.

"A couple days later, now evaluating our Provincial run, it was very inspirational for the Ambrose women's volleyball program. To be in the Championship final and receive the first ever Silver medal in program history was amazing! It is very important for athletes to experience big games and not only from the winning aspect but sometimes from the losing side of things as well." says Heidebrecht. "If someone would have said at the beginning of the year that we would be in the conference championship match, I would have been thrilled with it."

Barry looks forward to next year: "For the players coming back, they know what brought them success and now they know what is needed for the extra push."

The lions are looking forward to the Ambrose Athletics Awards gala happening at the beginning of April, as well as studying hard and finishing up their year with exams.

Go Lions!