Written by Joe Thomson

The Dalhousie men's volleyball team beat UNB 3-2 (25-22, 25-27, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13) on February 4, in Halifax.

The game started off with both teams trading points as neither team could put together a run to separate themselves. Raphael Hilario (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) provided a spark for the REDS as he pummelled the ball over and over on his way to five kills in the set. Dalhousie was able to answer, as Lucas Condon-Oldreive (Halifax, NS) came up with two massive blocks in the final points of the set to give the Tigers a 25-22 win.

The second set was more one-sided as Dalhousie hitters Michael Donovan (London, ON) and Josh DeYoung (Halifax, NS) began to heat up. UNB dug deep and managed to close the gap as Emil Pederson (Slagelse, Denmark) and Noah Boudreau (Greenfield, NS) started to connect on their swings. The REDS managed to come all the way back and take the set 27-25.

UNB was much stronger in the third set. Hilario continued his strong hitting display and Shamus Cormier (Bathurst, NB) stepped up on defence, contributing with a trio of impressive blocks as the REDS won the set 25-18.

Dalhousie made their push to extend the game as fifth year setter Quinton Dowling (Waterloo, ON) came to play in the final home game of his career. By the end of the fourth set, he had already amassed 50 assists in the match. Thanks in part to Dowling's efforts, the Tigers were able to force a fifth and final set.

Both teams fought hard in the final set as Hilario and DeYoung took turns pounding the ball into the floor. In the end, it was Dalhousie who earned the victory as the Tigers took the final set 15-13.

Dowling earned player of the game honours for Dalhousie after posting 59 assists in the match, one shy of his career high.

Both teams will now begin preparing for next Friday when Dalhousie travels to Sherbrooke to face the Vert et Or, while UNB hosts Laval.