Justine Rundberg
Justine Rundberg is a second year student athlete at College of the Rockies and is playing left side with the Av’s this season. A native of Cranbrook, Rundberg played in her hometown this past weekend.
Friday evenings match was a tough battle against Douglas College. Rundberg had 4 digs, 9 kills and 2 aces to keep the team close but were not able to pull out a win. COTR would lose 3-1 with set scores of 25-20, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20.
On Saturday, Rundberg tallied 16 kills, 5 digs and 1 ace to lead her team to a 3-1 win over Douglas (25-22, 21-25, 25-18, 25-23). “Justine was a leader on the court and really stepped up her game on Saturday and took control of the court.”
Taylor Verboom
Taylor Verboom is a 3rd year athlete from Radium, B.C. He began his post secondary career with Thompson Rivers University in the CIS (2008-09) then transferred to COTR for the 2009-10 season. Now in his 3rd year of eligibility, this 7’0” middle was instrumental in the Avs weekend sweep over the University of the Fraser Valley. In a fight to secure a playoff spot, the wins were extremely important this past weekend.
Verboom was a physical presence in both matches, continually putting balls away and putting up a large wall for the Avalanche to play defense behind. On Friday night, the Cascades took the Avs to that 5th set where the Avs eventually won 25-22, 12-25, 24-26, 25-19, 18-16. Verboom dominated at the net resulted in some timely blocks including one in the 5th set to keep the Avs alive. He would finish the night with 13 offensive points (6 kills, 6 blocks, 1 aces) and 2 digs. In Saturday’s rematch, the Avs once again played in a nail bitter as the match went the distance. COTR would again be victorious as they took the match 3-2 with set scores of 23-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13. Verboom would increase his production to 18 offensive points (7 kills, 8 blocks, 3 aces) and 1 dig. Verboom finished the weekend with 13 kills,14 blocks, 4 aces and 3 digs for the Avalanche in a very productive weekend.
Next up for the Avalanche are a homestand vs the Camosun College Chargers. Any combination of a COTR win or Capilano loss will secure a playoff spot for the boys from Cranbrook.