Tigers fall to REDS in five-set thriller

[Halifax, NS] The UNB Reds outlasted the Dalhousie Tigers in a close-fought five-set battle (24-26, 25-9, 24-26, 25-20, 15-8) on Saturday afternoon at the Dalplex in Halifax.

After an even start, it was UNB who held the lead first in this match. A kill and an ace from Eduardo Luchese (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) put the Reds ahead 10-6 before the Tigers equalized at 10-10. For the rest of the set, neither team was able to find their way in front by more than a couple points. This held until the Tigers brought up a set point after a kill from Bannon Rourke (Stillwater Lake, NS). The Tigers would convert this opportunity after a Reds attack error to grab a one-set lead.

Dropping the first set seemed to energize UNB, as they raced back to take the second set of this match in a blowout, 25-9. UNB led early and never looked back as they rode some great attacking play from Jacob Harris (Clarenville, NL) to great success.

The third set of this match saw Dalhousie jump out to a comfortable lead, as Lucas Condon-Oldreive (Porters Lake, NS) started well with a pair of kills. However, UNB slowly whittled the lead down, always closing but ultimately never leading despite some remarkable serving from setter Lucas Maffia (Victoria, BC). In the end, the Tigers narrowly escaped with the set after a two-man block from Samuel Gallagher (Fredericton, NB) and Matthew McCarvell (Toronto, ON) denied another UNB attack from Harris.

The back-and-forth nature of this match continued into the fourth set. UNB regained their momentum, and Dal was unable to regroup and go again after a great effort near the end of set 3. A host of errors plagued the Tigers in this set, as the Reds played cleaner volleyball down the stretch to send this match the distance.

In a rare fifth set, the Reds rode a good patch of play to a 12-3 lead, as the Reds second-year middle Lex Guimond (Baie-Sainte-Anne, NB) posted two kills and a block to put the Tigers in a tough position. Dal mustered as much as they could, but ultimately came up short as UNB claimed their win on their third match point as Luchese scored a massive kill.

Dal is still searching for their first win on the year, while UNB picked up their second after the comeback win this afternoon.

Moving forward, UNB will host the Université de Montréal Carabins next Friday night at 6 PM ADT in their home opener. Dal also has the Carabins on their schedule next but will have a week off before they make the trek up to Montreal for an 8 PM AST tip-off on November 9^th.