With the collegiate sports season gearing up, and the launch of its new soccer program, Red River College has added four new coaches to its athletics department this fall. Doug Lawrie and Paul Thompson will coach women’s and men’s soccer, respectively, while Jaenas Pangilinan  will coach women’s basketball and Lea Romanchuk will coach women’s volleyball.

“With their experience and enthusiasm, our new coaches will definitely play a key role in leading our Rebels teams to great success,” said Ryan Ratushniak, Red River College Director of Athletics.

For more information on RRC Rebels Athletics, visit www.rrc.ca/athletics

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Red River College's Rebels Men's Volleyball team wrapped up their third straight season of undefeated play over the weekend, winning their fourth straight Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) Championship Saturday night in front of 400 spectators.

The 2011 MCAC Final 4 Volleyball Championships, held last Friday and Saturday at RRC's recently-upgraded North Gym, saw the Rebels men's and women's teams playing host to squads from Canadian Mennonite University, Assiniboine Community College, Providence College and College universitaire de Saint-Boniface.

The Rebels men's team took the top spot at the tourney — besting the CMU Blazers with a 3-1 win, and finishing first in regular season standings with 12 wins and no losses. The women's team finished fourth in the tournament (the top spot went to the Providence College Freemen), but ranked second in regular season play with a 9-7 record.

The men's team's final match was a bit of nailbiter: Though RRC won the first, third and fourth sets (27-25, 25-20 and 25-15, respectively), CMU clinched the second with a 25-21 win. The second set also had to be delayed briefly after Rebels setter Curtis Sawatzky collided with teammate Dave Glass, opening up a cut on Glass's forehead.

"The guys have always responded to adversity this year," said Rebels head coach Dan Gilbert after the final. "With Dave (Glass) going out with that cut above his eye, and even though we dropped that set, it was the challenge we needed to really spark us."

Rebels hitter Jacoby Dueck's strong performance over the weekend earned him Final 4 MVP honours, while teammate Tom Oosterveen and CMU's Todd Reimer were named players of the game.

In related news, Dueck, Oosterveen and Erik Hansen were named 2010-11 All-Conference Selections (Oosterveen was also named Regular Season MVP), while on the women's side, Carley Dupuis and Amy Nachtigall earned All-Conference Selection honours.

For more information and standings, see mcacathletics.ca

A member of the Red River College Rebels was named Male Athlete of the Week by the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) on Nov. 16, 2010.

Mike Kozoway, a starter on the Rebels mens' volleyball team, was honoured for his excellent play. In a recent match against Assiniboine Community College, Kozoway had seven kills on 12 attempts, with only one attack error for a 58% kill percentage and a 50% attack efficiency. He also had a team-high five blocks.

The Rebels will battle to retain first place in the MCAC with two matches against a fellow undefeated squad, the 3-0 Canadian Mennonite University Blazers, on Fri., Nov. 19 at 8 p.m., and Sat., Nov. 20 at 3:30 p.m. Both matches will take place at RRC's Notre Dame Campus.

For more info, please click here.

The RRC men’s and women’s volleyball teams were in action this past weekend as Assiniboine Community College made the trip to Rebel’s Country.

Both teams extended their MCAC league record to 4-0 with straight set victories over the Cougars. The women’s team won their double header by scores of 25-15, 25-20, 26-24 and 25-18, 25-23, 25-21. The men won by scores of 25-5, 25-11, 25-12 and 25-8, 25-13, 25-23. The volleyball teams have some time to focus on their training as they will now enter a bye week.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams will take over the court this weekend as they face Canadian Mennonite University at CMU on Friday before returning to RRC for a rematch on Saturday. The women tip off on Friday at 6:30pm followed by the men at 8:00pm. Saturday will see the women start the action off at 2:00pm, while the men’s action will follow at 3:30pm.

Come and cheer on your Rebels! Free admission for all students and staff by showing your RRC student or staff card at the door.

Members of Red River College’s women’s volleyball team played mentor to up-and-comers from across the province last weekend, at the first ever Rebels Girls Volleyball Classic.

Held Oct. 16th and 17th at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, the event drew eight middle school teams for a day-long tournament, followed by a day’s worth of coaching clinics and skills camps run by RRC coaching staff and players.

“It’s something we’ve really been looking forward to doing – using our athletics program to be more active in the community, and to raise the profile of college sports by reaching out and helping these teams and these coaches develop,” said Dan Gilbert, RRC’s Recreation Coordinator and Men’s Volleyball Coach.

Saturday’s tournament drew eight teams from seven Manitoba schools: Blumenort School (in Ritchot), Ecole Seven Oaks Middle School, Edmund Partridge Community School, Lincoln School, Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute, Powerview School (in Powerview) and Springs Christian Academy (who entered two teams). In between games, the RRC’s Rebels squared off against Providence College.

A follow-up tournament and skills camp for boys’ teams is scheduled for Nov. 20th and 21st, with 16 teams currently registered. Gilbert says last weekend’s tourney has already drawn high praise from participants.

“We’ve had a lot of very positive feedback from the schools involved, saying it was a great event for both the coaches and athletes,” he said.

For more information about Rebels Athletics, click here.