Posted: Nov 18, 2025

Thunder Athletics Weekly Recap - Week 11

Thunder athletes were back after Reading Week feeling fresh and ready to finish the rest of the semester's games. Badminton, Basketball, and Volleyball teams all continued their regular season play this past weekend. Check out what happened for all teams below.

Badminton

Thunder badminton travelled to SAIT this weekend, playing in their second tournament of the season. Podium finishes included a second place result for Raphael Motel and Jonny Su in Men’s Doubles, as well as Motel and Prabhleen Kaur ending in second in Mixed Doubles. Here were the remaining positions for the group in each category.

Men’s Singles:

Milkias Birhane - 8th place
Isaac Jee - 10th place
Evan Couch - 11th place

Women’s Singles:

Emma Tran - 4th place
Prabhleen Kaur - 5th place

Mixed Doubles:

Milkias Birhane + Lauryn Psutka - 7th place
Cheyenne Smykalski + Jonny Su - 10th place

Men’s Doubles:

Evan Couch + Issac Jee - 8th place

Women’s Doubles:

Cheyenne Smykalski + Emma Tran - 5th place

Badminton will be back in action in the new year, as Concordia will host tournament #3 at Ralph King on January 25th.

Basketball

Both basketball teams had a road trip last weekend, travelling to by Briercrest on Friday night, and then heading to Medicine Hat college to face off against the Rattlers on Saturday night.

Friday night vs. the Briercrest Clippers women’s basketball fell 72–62 despite a strong fourth-quarter push that saw the Thunder outscore the Clippers 24–16. Jaycee May led the way with 12 points, while Georgia Bowman added 11 and Chloe Sutherland-Deklerk chipped in 9. Concordia shot an impressive 91.7% from the free-throw line and forced 15 turnovers, but an early 16-6 scoring gap for the Clippers after the 1st quarter proved difficult to overcome. On Saturday, the women got back into the win column with a strong 75–58 road win over Medicine Hat College. The Thunder controlled the game from start to finish, highlighted by a dominant performance from Chloe Sutherland-Deklerk, who poured in 29 points, added 8 assists, and collected 11 steals in an outstanding two-way effort. Georgia Bowman also came up big with 18 points on an efficient 8-for-12 shooting night, while the team combined for 20 steals and 19 assists to power a balanced, high-tempo attack. The Thunder pulled away from the Rattlers in the third quarter with a 23-13 run and never looked back, securing their eighth win of the season.

For men’s basketball, CUE put up a strong offensive effort but fell 110–89 to Briercrest on Friday night. Shak Jama led the Thunder with 22 points, while Malik Edwards added 14, and Roka Phalen-Baker chipped in 10 off efficient trips to the free-throw line. Despite generating 38 rebounds and getting to the stripe for 38 free-throw attempts, Concordia couldn’t slow Briercrest’s scoring runs in the second and third quarters, which proved to be the difference. On Saturday, men’s basketball fell just short in an 86–81 loss to Medicine Hat College. Shak Jama delivered another standout performance with 33 points, while Malik Edwards added 18 and Keellaa Gatwech chipped in 11 with a strong effort on the boards. The Thunder matched the Rattlers early, but a decisive second quarter by Medicine Hat created a gap Concordia couldn’t fully close. Despite outscoring the Rattlers in the fourth, the comeback bid fell just short.

Women’s basketball continues to hold the top spot in the ACAC North Division with an 8-1 record and men’s basketball’s 2-7 record has them sitting in seventh in the North Division. Both teams are off this coming weekend before wrapping up the semester with a home game at Ralph King against Olds College on November 29th.

Volleyball

Thunder volleyball had back-to-back games at home this past weekend, hosting the Briercrest Clippers on Friday and the Medicine Hat Rattlers on Saturday.

Concordia battled point-for-point with Briercrest but ultimately fell in straight sets, despite strong offensive contributions. Kolby Zimmer led the Thunder with 9 kills, while Summer Radford added 7 kills on an impressive .700 hitting percentage to spark the attack. Alex MacDonald also chipped in 6 kills and 3 blocks, but the Thunder couldn’t overcome the sustained pressure from the Clippers. Saturday’s afternoon game was a different story, as women’s volleyball earned a strong 3–1 win over Medicine Hat, taking control early with back-to-back set victories and finishing the match with a composed fourth-set push. Emma Thompson powered the Thunder with 18 kills, while Summer Radford added an efficient 6 kills on .500 hitting and 3 aces. Setter Paige Luttrell steered the offense with 44 assists, helping Concordia earn their first victory at home on the young season.

On the men’s side, Concordia pushed Briercrest to the brink in the third set but ultimately fell 3–0 on Friday night. Brodie Wight led the Thunder with 10 kills and 7 digs, with Logan Kranrod adding 8 kills to spark the late-set surge. Despite a strong offensive push in the final frame, Concordia couldn’t overcome Briercrest’s efficiency as a team. The men came out strong with back-to-back set wins on Saturday, but ultimately fell 3–2 to Medicine Hat in a tight five-set battle at Ralph King. Brodie Wight led the Thunder with 17 kills, while Alexi Dufour and Logan Kranrod added efficient offense to keep Concordia in control early. Despite a competitive push in the fourth and fifth sets, the Thunder couldn’t reclaim momentum late.

After the weekend, women’s volleyball holds a 4-3 record, tied for third in the ACAC North Division. Men’s volleyball now sits at 2-5, tied for fourth in the North Division. Thunder volleyball will travel Saturday November 22nd to battle Red Deer Polytechnic as their only game this coming weekend.