Those on Olds College's men's volleyball team hope they will win many more matches in the future. It sounds so obvious but those aspirations were made in earnest by a team that hasn't had many to celebrate.
Those on Olds College's men's volleyball team hope they will win many more matches in the future.
It sounds so obvious but those aspirations were made in earnest by a team that hasn't had many to celebrate.
For the first time since 2012, the Broncos will finish their ACAC season with a win.
The team beat Ambrose University College 3-2 on Jan. 23 in Olds.
"I felt relieved. All the guys felt the same way … it felt like a gorilla, let alone a monkey, was just taken off our backs," said head coach Russ Ogden.
The Broncos currently have a 1-17 record and are last in the standings with six matches to go.
Ogden has a few thoughts on why the program hasn't seen much on-court success.
"The program hasn't been stable over the entire period we've been back in the ACAC. This is only my second year as coach...there's been a lot of turnover over the years," he said.
"You can't really build a program if you have a coaching staff that is always changing. It makes it more difficult to recruit athletes."
That first win gave some of the team's longest-serving players a sense of closure as they play the last few matches of their college careers.
Libero Tyson Hislop has been on the team since 2013. He said beating the Lions made him feel like all the work put in during practice had finally paid off.
Hislop, from Arcola, Sask. has two years of eligibility left but is graduating from the land and water resources program. He plans to visit Olds to cheer on future Broncos.
Leftside Dylan White said he thought the team would pick up a few victories in the first semester. He currently ranks fourth in the ACAC South in kills per set. In his fifth season, he too is graduating.
"I'm debating the option of going pro or I might just take the time off and work," White said. "I'm not too sure. I've been in touch with an agent over there … in Europe somewhere."
Ogden said his team is capable of playing with any team in the league -- it just had trouble realizing that.
"Throughout the year, we've improved every weekend and the guys are seeing that and their confidence (has) built up over the past few months."
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"I felt relieved. All the guys felt the same way ... it felt like a gorilla, let alone a monkey, was just taken off our backs." RUSS OGDEN, head coach
