The Saint Mary's Huskies came all the way back to win 3-2 against the Dalhousie Tigers tonight after the Tigers won the first two sets. The Huskies ruined the CIS ninth ranked Tigers home opener in front of a big crowd at the Dalplex.

The Tigers looked dominant in the first set, with Maggie Li and Desiree Nouwen leading the charge. Nouwen ended the set with an emphatic kill after a long rally and the Tigers won 25-20.

The Huskies turned up their defense in the second set, led by Shelby Michaels, who had a game-high 32 digs on the night. Neither team could seem to gain an edge on the other for the rest of the set, until a huge block by Tigers Rachel Wright and Marlee Powers gave the Tigers a 22-20 lead. Coach Rick Scott took a timeout and the Tigers went out and won the second set 25-23.

Saint Mary's came out in the third set with a sense of urgency, not wanting to drop their first game against their cross-town rivals. The Huskies were up 20-16 when the Tigers made a small surge, but just as things looked like they were about to swing back in Dalhousie's favor, Rachel Windhorst came up with a huge block on Maggie Li, making the score 22-19 for the Huskies. Windhorst, who had 12 kills on the day, followed up with a kill to make it 23-21 for the Huskies.

Huskies head coach Darren Russell quickly called a timeout to help his squad collect themselves, but two kills in a row by Desiree Nouwen tied the score at 24. The Huskies would rally to win the series 27-25.

The fourth set saw more back and forth action with neither team giving an inch. Both teams stepped up their game defensively, but Josie LeDuc's blew a serve past the Tigers and the Huskies went on to win the set 26-24.

The Huskies rode the momentum and continued put on a defensive clinic in the fifth set, winning 15-10.

Desiree Nouwen led the Tigers with 20 kills and 22.5 points.

The Tigers will look to regroup with a game against the Cape Breton Capers on Saturday at the Dalplex, while the Huskies face the Capers on Sunday.