WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The CIS No. 10 ranked Dalhousie Tigers escaped an upset loss in their season opening match against Acadia with a 3-2 match win in Wolfville.
First year Tiger Courtney Baker (Bridgewater, N.S.) led Dalhousie with 15 kills as the Tigers captured the match win with a fifth set 15-10 victory.
Dalhousie grabbed a 25-18 first set win over the Axewomen. Tied at eight, the Tigers pushed out to a 20-13 lead on several Acadia attack errors, but Marrisa Chin's (Markham, Ont.) service ace sparked some energy into the Axewomen's lineup. Acadia fought back to 22-17 and bowed out at 25-18.
Acadia was quick to grab a 8-1 lead in the second set on the back of three kills by Carlotta Frasca (Rome, Italy). At 20-10 for Acadia, the set was quickly wrapped up at 25-14.
The Tigers pushed to an opening 9-5 lead on a combination of several timely kills and errors by the Axewomen. Extending the lead to 15-10, Dalhousie maintained a five to six point buffer to hold onto a 25-14 third set win.
With their backs against the wall, the Axewomen pulled off a convincing but tight 25-20 fourth game win to remain alive. Tied at 13 and 17, Acadia squeezed ahead on kills by first year outside hitter Lauryn Renzella (Stouffville, Ont.) and three more timely kills by Frasca. Frasca's final kill of the set gave the Axewomen a 25-20 win.
Opening the final frame with two service aces by Olivia Boudreault (Hammonds Plains, N.S.), the 2-0 Acadia lead vanished with a kill by Courtney Baker, several attack erros and service ace by Abby Czense (Halifax, N.S.), giving Dalhousie a 5-3 lead. The Tigers capitalized on several more Acadia attack errors to pull out to a 12-6 lead and eventual 15-10 fifth set win.
While the loss was taken hard by the Acadia players, head coach Michelle Wood was spoke highly of the team's effort. "I was very pleased with our side out efficiency and control on first contact within this match. Our outside hitters did a tremendous job putting the ball away." pointed out Wood.
"We unfortunately didn't utilize the momentum we had coming out of the fourth set. A couple of tentative plays and mental blips got in the way of our win in the final set. This was an experience we will build on for later in the year", added Wood.
Second year outside hitter Carlotta Frasca led the Axewomen with 17 kills while teammate and Subway Player of the Game Sarah Ross (Toronto, Ont.) posted 15 kills. Tigers Mieke DuMont (Kamloops, B.C.) and Anna Dunn-Suen (Halifax, N.S.) had 10 and 11 kills respectively.
The Axewomen will now prepare for next weekend's road trip to New Brunswick against Moncton on Sat. Nov. 7 followed by a visit to UNB on Sunday. The Tiges will head across town to Saint Mary's for a Friday Nov. 6 matchup.
Source: Acadia Athletics