Volleyball Tigers beat UNB 3-0

(Halifax, NS) – In their second match of the weekend, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the UNB Reds in women's volleyball action. The Tigers got down early in sets, but they were able to battle back each time, and came away with a 3-0 victory.  

It was a tough start to the match for the Tigers with errors piling up early, and the Reds took advantage with Adora Rooyakkers (Port Hawksbury, NS) getting in on the offense early. The Reds opened up the match with a 7-4 lead.   

The Tigers were able to regroup however, putting together four kills in a row, three of them coming off the hands of Julie Moore (Halifax, NS), with Mieke DuMont (Kamloops, BC) adding a kill and a service ace.   

The Tigers turned it around early in the set and took a 16-10 lead into the technical break after another hard swing from Moore.  

Coming out of the break in a hole, the Reds put together a nice stretch of plays with Victoria Eadle (Gallagher Ridge, NB) serving well to collect an ace and force the Tigers into committing errors to bring themselves back within three.  

After quickly calling a timeout, the Tigers were once again able to regroup in the set, and Courtney Baker (Bridgewater, NS) collected a few kills of her own to help the Tigers stretch their lead late in the set.   

Hannah Aldcorn (Calgary, AB) was able to step in and pick up the final two kills of the set for the Tigers as they took the lead with a 25-17 win in the first set.  

The second set began with some great rallies, and strong defensive play from both sides, but the Reds were coming out on top of the long plays more often, taking a 12-9 lead on a big kill from Megan Kuciak (Ottawa, ON).   

Once again the Tigers fought back in the set just before the technical break, scoring four points in a row, with two kills coming from DuMont, forcing a Reds timeout. The timeout worked well for the Reds, putting together a run of their own, but the Tigers took a slight 16-15 advantage into the break.   

The Tigers were able to keep that slight advantage with continued defensive play from Alyssa Harding (Toronto, ON), leading to a few huge kills from Victoria Haworth (Waverley, NS) as the Tigers managed to hold on to the second set, winning 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead.   

This time the Tigers got off to a good start in the set, quickly jumping to a 7-3 on kills from DuMont, but errors piled up before the technical break, and Kuciak and Victoria Eadle were able to send home a few kills to keep the Reds in it.   

The Tigers took a 16-12 lead into the technical break, with the final kill coming from Courtney Baker.   

Pushing their lead out of the break, the Tigers put a stranglehold on the set, with five straight points on kills from Baker and DuMont to make it 21-12.  

The Tigers were able to close out the set quickly, with Lauren Kosokowich (Calgary, AB) hammered home the final kill to make it 25-13 to give them a 3-0 win in the match.  

Megan Kuciak led the Reds with nine kills in the match, while Moore picked up 13 to go along with 16 digs defensively. DuMont was right behind her with 12 kills, and two aces for the Tigers to earn her the Subway Player of the Game title.  

Both teams will take part in the AUS League Tournament next weekend at Acadia, with the Tigers first matchup coming against Moncton. The Reds will take on the host team in their first match on Friday.