Kodiaks feel a sense of belief heading into semester break

By Lethbridge Herald on November 29, 2023.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s volleyball team are heading into the semester  break with  more confidence and belief after two adrenaline-filled wins this past weekend.

Those wins were over the fifth nationally ranked Red Deer Polytechnic Kings and both matches went to  nail-biting five sets at Lethbridge College.

The Kodiaks won the second set 25-19, fourth set 28-26 and the fifth and decisive set 16-14, while the Kings won the opening set 25-21 and the third set 25-18 on Friday.

Saturday’s game saw Lethbridge College win the opening set 26-24, the third set 25-20 and the fifth set 15-13, while the Kings won the second set 25-23 and fourth set 25-18.

“(It is)  good to play the best,” said Kodiaks head coach Greg Gibos.

“So, it’s even better when you kind of get the win. So, yeah, really good weekend for us and yeah showed a lot of good things which is always nice to see at the end of a semester.”

Gibos saw the team come together in the wins.

“I thought that was the most mature two matches that we’ve had in a long time,” said Gibos.

“I thought a lot of our athletes showed really good control and positive body language and so I thought we  grew up a lot. I thought we learned a lot of lessons throughout the course of the semester and I thought that it really showed how much our group has gelled and how passionate this group is about winning together. I thought when things got really difficult, I thought we came together as a squad and that’s something that’s really encouraging. That’s not stuff we can teach through film or through any of that kind of stuff. It’s just takes our athletes to have (a) genuine respect and care for each other.”

The team, according to Gibos, will only want to get better after these wins.

“A lot of motivation, a lot of energy and a lot of what’s to come I think is showing us that again we could accomplish whatever this group wants to accomplish together,” said Gibos.

“So that belief is so powerful for a group moving into a break like this.”

The men’s volleyball team’s record sits at 6-3 at the semester break.

As for the Kodiak women’s volleyball team, their record dropped to 2-7 after being swept in three sets in both games to Red Deer.

The Kodiak men’s basketball team beat the Medicine Hat College Rattlers 95-94 last Thursday and 103-78 on Saturday to close out the first semester with a 5-4 record.

The Kodiak women’s team won both of their games against the Rattlers with 83-64 and 76-55 victories on the same days to move to 8-1 on the season.