(London, Ontario) – On Saturday evening, the Fanshawe Women's Volleyball team fell in the CCAA National bronze medal match to Red Deer 3-1 to finish fourth nationally.

In a rematch of Thursday's five set quarterfinal won by Fanshawe, the Red Deer Queens came out with something to prove. They got out to an early 7-2 lead on the Falcons to start the match. The Birds could not recover from the early deficit and dropped set one 25-14.

Excellent serving from Ashley Rafferty (Peace River, AB) gave Fanshawe some life in the second set as the teams exchanged points. A big block from Janelle Albert (Brampton, ON) gave the Falcons a 15-12 advantage midway through the set. Unfortunately, the Queens went on a 4-0 run out of a timeout to regain a one-point lead. Red Deer would use that momentum and finish on a 13-2 streak to take set two 25-17.

Fanshawe stepped up their game in set three with back-to-back kills from Kiana Lee (London, ON). A massive kill from Albert excited the red and black and they would use that to carry them on a 3-0 run. Great defensive plays at the net by Mattea Deleary (Ridgetown, ON) extended the lead for the Falcons and she would close out the set with a kill. The Birds won the third set, 25-18.

In the fourth set, Red Deer jumped out to an early lead once again. Fanshawe was resilient in their comeback efforts and put together a late charge, however they were unable to recover from the early deficit and dropped the set 25-21 and ultimately the match 3-1. Deleary was named the Player of the Match and Albert was named a CCAA Tournament First Team All-Star for her outstanding performance throughout the weekend. The National Championship was hosted by Garneau in Quebec City.

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