by Duncan Forbes
The women’s volleyball team had another exciting season culminating with an AUS championship. They lost a significant chunk of last year’s championship roster, but still had great depth in key veterans and a great group of first years.
They kicked off their season with their annual invitational tournament in September, and the Tigers looked like they would contend for the championship again after posting a 3-1 record with Acadia, Moncton and Saint Mary’s. They were ranked eighth in the country, and it looked like the young squad was set to prove doubters wrong right away.
The Tigers got off to a tough start, going 0-4 at the AUS-RSEQ Interlock event in Montreal, and they dropped their next game 3-1 to UNB. Despite their 0-5 start, the Tigers still believed they had what it took to be a championship team.
On November 2, they got their first regular season victory, dominating Moncton 3-0 on the road. They won two of their next three games and headed into the holiday break with a 3-6 record.
In the second half of the season, the Tigers were the team to beat as they went undefeated in seven games, dropping just one set during the entire stretch. Despite their tough start, ending their season on an eight-game winning streak propelled them to second-place in the AUS with a 10-6 record.
“We had a big turnover from the last two championship seasons and added six new athletes to the roster this year,” says head coach Rick Scott. “I think we improved throughout the season and our leaders did a tremendous job in the second half taking ownership of their success.”
Anna Dunn-Suen led the Tigers in kills and points per set, good for second in the AUS. She was named an AUS first team all-star, along with teammates Abby Czenze and Marisa Mota, while Jessica Josenhans was named to the second team. Mota received libero of the year honours and Mieke DuMont was named to the all-rookie team. DuMont was also named to the CIS all-rookie team.
“I was very pleased with Mieke’s performance,” says Scott, who was named the AUS coach of the year. “She really came on for our team in the second half and showed a composure and maturity well beyond her years in big matches.”
At the AUS championship, the Tigers faced the third-seed and host UNB Varsity Reds in the second semifinal. After taking the first set, the Varsity Reds stormed back to take the next two. Not wanting to go home early, the Tigers responded with a 25-9 fourth set win, and followed it up with a thrilling 15-12 fifth set win to punch their ticket to the finals.
In the final, the Tigers defeated the Huskies 3-1 after splitting the first two sets and taking the last two to win their third consecutive AUS championship. Dunn-Suen was the tournament MVP, in addition to being named to the championship all-star team with Abby Czenze.
The Tigers moved on to the CIS championship as the sixth-seed to face the host and third-seed Toronto in quarter-final action. The Tigers couldn’t keep up with the OUA champions, falling 3-0. In the consolation semifinal, they faced the Ottawa Gee-Gees, losing 3-0.
Despite the losses in Toronto, the Tigers should feel great about their season. Coach Scott is was very positive and optimistic about the future.
“We proved that we can win, even when we struggle. We have 11 players eligible to return that have gained experience winning an AUS championship and competing at the CIS level. All of those things should help us going forward.”