2025 ACAC Women's Volleyball Championship Recap
The Ambrose Lions Women’s Volleyball team found themselves at the Elite Promotional Marketing 2025 ACAC Women’s Volleyball Championship hosted by the University of Alberta, Augustana, in Camrose, AB,
It was the eighth consecutive ACAC championship for the team after a dominant second semester performance placing them third in the south. This year nothing short of a high-intensity whirlwind, facing off against the King’s University Eagles in the quarterfinal.
Game one fell to the Eagles to the fifth set after both teams continuously exchanged hard-fought points.
The opening set of the night kept the crowd packed into the Augustana Gym on their feet after the Lions climbed back from a six-point deficit before libero Christina Bett’s fully extended reach kept the ball in play, and shifting the momentum in their favour.
Elise Wagner was the one to start the game with a one-set advantage after finding the left-side line.
TKU came back to take sets two and three, forcing the Lions to WORD in the fourth. It seemed as though Ambrose wouldn’t be able to find their footing but stunned with a noteworthy comeback to take the set 25-23. The final set would eventually go to the Eagles.
Elise Wagner and Taylor Hart would finish game one with a combined 29 kills, with Wagner adding nine digs to her total. Brooklyn Deol and Halle Blocha both added 10 kills apiece to Ambrose’s stat sheet.
The Lions would go on to face the Briercrest Clippers in the consolation semi-final the next night.
Day two was a fresh start for the squad, with a late evening face-off between two south division powerhouses.
After taking the first set of the evening, the Lions seemingly lost momentum and struggled in an uphill battle for the next three sets.
The third set of the night proved to be a clash of the titans with both teams fighting late in the set, taking it to 24-24 before Briercrest was able to land two back-to-back.
Brooklyn Deol and Elise Wagner put down eight kills each, demonstrating to everyone in the gym why they were selected to the 2025 ACAC Women’s Volleyball All-Conference teams; Wagner as an outside hitter and Deol as a middle blocker.
Other standouts by the Lions were setter Rachel Barg and libero Emilie Pregal. Barg maintained her composure through both days of play and came back after a mid-game injury. Pregal covered every inch of the floor, diving into the stands when necessary to keep her squad alive.
The Lions finished the regular season with a 12-7 record, including a 10-game winning streak.