Royals continue to struggle in 'Mountain Rivalry'

In what are always highly anticipated games, the Royals battled their 'mountain rival' on Friday night in the 8th of 10 total meetings this season across all sports. So far Mohawk has been dominant against the Royals during the 2010-2011 season going 2-0 in outdoor soccer, 2-0 in basketball and 2-0 in volleyball. Friday night was no exception as the Mountaineers improved their 'Royal Record' to 8-0 with a 65-36 victory against the women's basketball team and a 77-44 win against the men's basketball team.

In the previous two years, the Royals women's outdoor soccer team and the Royals men's volleyball team have, with respective records of 3-1 and 4-1, provided the bright spots for Redeemer in their cross-town rivalry. Both Royals basketball teams, the women's volleyball team, and men's outdoor soccer teams have struggled.

The last win, excluding exhibition play, against Mohawk across all league sports for Redeemer was at the 2009-2010 OCAA Men's Volleyball Championships in which Redeemer was the host. Down 2-0 in the bronze medal game, the Royals stormed back to tie the match up at 2-2. Then, backed by 750 loud cheering fans, they took the 5th game and the bronze medal in one of the most thrilling and intense games in recent memory for this rivalry.

Despite their struggles in 2010-2011, there are very positive signs for the Royals next year and the following ones. With a young, talented women's volleyball team, a top-ranked men's volleyball team, positive progress and development in the basketball programs, and a new world class soccer complex attracting high level soccer players, the future is bright for the Royals and in turn, for the 'mountain rivalry'.

With just two regular season games left between the Royals and Mountaineers, Redeemer will look to avoid being shut out when the men's and women's volleyball teams travel to Mohawk on February 9th. Currently the women's volleyball team sits at 6-6 and 8 points behind Mohawk while the men's team sits at 5-5 and tied with Mohawk in the standings.