Tigers win first match of Interlock

Source: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics 

(FREDERICTON, NB) In a back-and-forth match, the Dalhousie Tigers scored a 3-2 victory over the Universite de Sherbrooke Vert et Or in AUS-RSEQ interlock action, in Fredericton, on Friday evening. 

Dal went on a pair of 3-0 runs and a 4-0 run, on route to a 25-17 first set victory. 

Sherbrooke rode four Julien Talbot(Ile de la Reunion, QC) kills to a 25-21 win in the second, before the Tigers took the third set 25-23. 

Sherbrooke used a 7-0 run late in the fourth set to score a 25-12 win, and appeared to capture the momentum going into the deciding set. 

But the Tigers raced out to a 3-0 lead, and pushed it to 10-5 before Sherbrooke called time-out to half Dal's momentum. 

The Tigers used another 3-0 run to take the set 15-8, and the match 3-2. 

Matthew Donovan (London, ON) led the Tigers with 19 kills and 13 digs. 

Kobe Shannon (Halifax, NS) added 16 kills for Dal, while Jeffrey Walton (Sudbury, ON) added 13. 

Walton was named Dal's Subway Player of the Match. 

"We feel good. Especially after coming off the York tournament, and winning that," said Walton. "We've got to clean some things up, for sure, but we need to keep grinding and see what happens." 

As for having to play five sets, Walton feels it took some time for Dal to get into the match. 

"It was just a matter of us getting into a good side-out rhythm," he said. "Our serving was back and forth, guys missing serves who usually don't miss serves and our setting was a little off, but I think we battled through." 

Talbot was Sherbrooke's only player in double figures in kills, with 11. 

Laurent Duval-Demers(Candiac, QC) had 13 digs and Samuel Couturier(Amqui, QC) recorded 40 assists. Couturier was named the Subway Player of the Match for Sherbrooke. 

"We weren't able to close the third set," said Couturier. "If we'd been able to close that, we might've had a better chance to win." 

"It's disappointing. We don't have any victories this year and to be so close, it's disappointing," he said. "But we lost to Dal in three sets earlier, so it's a great step for us to make more points this time." 

The Tigers face Laval and Montreal on Saturday, as interlock play continues. 

Sherbrooke takes on UNB on Saturday.