Donovan leads Tigers in loss to Sherbrooke
Michael Donovan had a team high 11 kills in the 3-0 loss Saturday.
Recap by Amelia St. John
The Sherbrooke Vert et Or men's volleyball team swept Dalhousie in three sets in their second match of the weekend, Saturday afternoon.
Sherbrooke took the first set, 25-15. The Tigers brought a strong presence to the court with the combination of Lucas Condon-Oldreive (Halifax, NS) serving and Michael Donovan (London, ON) attacking at the net. Sherbrooke began to dominate the set when Elliot Collard started serving which put Sherbrooke up 7 points, putting the Tigers on defense. Another 5 unanswered points for Sherbrooke brought the score to 24-14, the Tigers managed to put a few points on the scoreboards but not enough to make up for Sherbrooke's lead.
The second set was when the Tigers finally turned on the heat, fighting for every point to counteract Sherbrooke's attacks. Much like the first set, Condon-Oldreive's serves, and Donovan's kills allowed Dalhousie to gain some traction. The Tigers totaled out 13 kills for the set, 8 of these from Donovan and 3 from Justin Cross (Winnipeg, MB). However, Sherbrooke was able to maintain their aggressive offense, which gave them a competitive edge when it came down to the last couple points of the set. A much more back and forth set for both teams ended in another win for Sherbrooke, 25-20.
The Tigers turned the tides during the third set which, like the previous 2 sets, started off with a strong spike from Donovan. Sherbrooke responded with kills from Yoan David and Sebastien Lapensee who went back and forth to gain 4 consecutive kills. After a timeout, the Tigers fought back. Ted Graveson's (Burnaby, BC) kills and Derrick Ejeckham's (Gander, NL) aces allowed the Tigers to finally take the lead for the first time in the set. However, Sherbrooke's offense maintained their consistency which proved to be a challenge for the Tigers when it came down to the final points of the set.
The defeat this weekend marked the last match of the regular season for the Tigers who have to wait until next weekend to know who they will play in playoffs. Sherbrooke will host the Montreal Carabins Friday at 7:30 pm for their final match.