Game recap by: Kirk Jessome
(Halifax, NS) – In game one of the Dalhousie Tigers alumni weekend double-header, they took on the cross-town Saint Mary's Huskies on Friday. In an impressive display from the service line, and on the defensive side of the ball, the Huskies were able to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season by a score of 3-1.
Some wires were crossed in the Tigers communication early, and that opened up an opportunity for the Huskies to jump out to a quick lead in the set with kills from Lindsay Donovan (London, ON) and Bethany Smith (Moncton, NB).
It seemed like the Tigers were playing from behind throughout the first half of the set, but they were able to slowly chip away with Julie Moore (Halifax, NS) and Mieke DuMont (Kamloops, BC) getting the Tigers offense moving.
The Tigers were finally able to get their first lead in the set on a tough kill from Lauren Koshkowich (Calgary, AB) just in time to send them into the technical break with a 16-14 lead.
The timeout sparked the Tigers for the second half of the set, with Julie Moore hammering home four-straight kills to give the Tigers a sizable lead.
After a timeout called by the Huskies, they were able to regroup with another kill from Smith and two perfectly placed service aces from Kennedy Wright (Vernon, BC) down the left side that the Tigers were unable to handle.
After the Huskies began to battle back, the Tigers were able to regroup and with another kill from DuMont, and an attack from Donovan sailing wide, the Tigers were able to hold on to the win in the first set at 25-20.
Once again the Huskies came out with fire to start the set, with Emilla Conlon (Dartmouth, NS) picking up an incredible four aces in five serves to start the second.
The Tigers once again had to play catch-up in the set, but a run full of long rallies in the middle of the set was finished off with two massive blocks from Hannah Aldcorn (Calgary, AB) as the Tigers were able to take over the lead in the set, going into the technical timeout up 16-12.
In a similar fashion to the first set, the Tiger took a strong lead in the back half of the set, up 20-15, but they once again had trouble closing it out. The Huskies fought all the way back to force extra points at 24-24 with key kills from Olivia Bell (Lahave, NS) and Smith.
With back to back costly errors from the Tigers, the Huskies came all the way back in the set and tied up the match with the 26-24 win.
The two teams traded kills in a tight third set, with Simran Gill (Mississauga, ON) stepping up to the lead the offense for the Huskies, while Moore continued to lead the way for the Tigers along with Victoria Haworth (Waverly, NS).
After the Tigers held a 16-15 lead at the timeout, the teams continued to go point for point in the set with neither side able to pull away. It wasn't till an incredible dig from Jaime Rourke (Mission, BC) saved the point for the Huskies that they were able to secure the third set victory by a score of 25-22.
The Tigers once again looked out of sorts at the start of the fourth set, with the Huskies service game giving them all kinds of trouble. Jakobie Friesen (Barrie, ON) had a long stint from the service line, picking up two aces and forcing multiple Tigers errors én route to a 16-13 lead at the technical timeout.
The Tigers clawed their way back into the set with the help of errors on the Huskies part, but back to back kills from Lindsay Donovan set the Huskies up for match-point in the set.
With conservative hitting in mind to stay in the match, Mieke DuMont took one last swing for the Tigers that sailed just inches wide, and the Huskies secured the 25-23 win in the set and take the 3-1 victory.
Victoria Haworth led the Tigers attack in the loss, finishing with 13 kills as well as 3 blocks. For the Huskies, Jaime Rourke ended the match with 12 kills and 19 digs on the defensive side of the ball. Renee Cleveland was named the Subway Player of the Game in the win for the Huskies.
The Tigers will look to bounce back tomorrow when they take on Acadia, while the Huskies will try to keep their win streak rolling when they host Moncton on Sunday.