Trojans open weekend with win over Rattlers

CALGARY, ALTA., (Jan. 17, 2020) - The SAIT Trojans men's volleyball team made things quick Friday night.

The Trojans only needed three sets, as they beat the visiting Medicine Hat College Rattlers 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) in Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) action played inside SAIT Gymnasium.

"I think that game was a lot closer than the score made it out to be," said Trojans head coach Dallas Soonias. "We had a distinct hole in that game, and Medicine Hat did a great job of exploiting it. . . Now we need to take a look at things, and find a game plan for tomorrow night back in their gym."

The win sends SAIT to 13-4 in the ACAC South Division standings. Medicine Hat falls to 4-11.

For the third straight game to open the second semester, outside Riley Grusing (3rd year, Calgary, Civil Engineering Technology) led the team in kills. On Friday, he produced 16 of them, to go along with four digs and three blocks.

"He's playing the most consistent stretch of volleyball I've seen him play in my time at SAIT," Soonias said of Grusing. "It's nice to know that if someone is injured or struggling, the next guy up steps in and gets the job done. It really makes our program better."

When pushed on his team's depth, Soonias explained the difference between 'team' and 'program' to help illustrate his point.

"The Canadian National Team just qualified for the Olympics for the second time in a row, and that's the first time they have ever done that," said Soonias, a former member of the team. "Up until about 10 years ago, it's been a national team with six guys who at any point can get the job done. Now, it's a program with 30 dudes who they can pull in and pull out and the level doesn't drop. My goal as a coach is to build a program here at SAIT."

SAIT will look to finish off a sweep of the Rattlers Saturday night in Medicine Hat, Alta., Game time is set for 8pm.