Axewomen defeat Tigers 3-1

WOLFVILLE, N.S. - The Acadia Axewomen remain undefeated and improve to 3-0 on the year as they defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 on sets this Saturday in a statement victory against the reigning AUS Volleyball Champions. 

Acadia jumped out to a hot start in front of a packed Stu Aberdeen Court, but the Tigers staged an impressive late set comeback taking the set into extra points. The Axewomen weathered the storm on the back of a phenomenal performance from Subway Player of the Game winner Taylor Collombin and ended up winning the set 30-28. 

The second set was another nail-biter with Acadia coming out on top 25-23. The story of the set was Collombin's dominance again, assisted by stellar performances all around, such as the defensive prowess of Libero Becky Dorsey who came up with a number of seemingly impossible digs. Also, very impressive this game was the ever-present attacking threat of Outside Hitter Emilie Albert, who may have gotten somewhat lost in the brilliance of Collombin's performance, but had a strong game herself putting up 13 points including 5 aces. 

The third set saw Dalhousie fly out of the gates to an early 13-5 lead in the game. The Axewomen would battle back, but in the end would fall just short, losing the set 25-20. A pair of rookie setters Tigers showed some inexperience through a number of unforced errors that allowed the Axewomen to come back. 

The fourth set was tight from the onset, but it soon became clear that the Axewomen were the better team on the day. Putting the Tigers on the back foot and not letting up, it was a surgical performance. Acadia would win the set 25-13 and the match 3-1. 

In a landmark game - her 60th in an Acadia uniform - Outside hitter Taylor Collombin was dominant, putting up a team-high 29 points while also posting team-highs in kills (25) and digs (26). Olivia Haley led the team in blocks with 5 in another great performance from the Middle. 

On the other side of the net, the Tigers were led by Julie Moore who posted 14 kills and 13 points. Kathleen Fougere and Victoria Turcot each had 10 kills. 

When interviewed after the game, Collombin said "I mean I think that when you know your teammates are putting their body on the line for you, you're going to do everything that you can to support them and put your body on the line too. So, I think it really showed today how much we really care for each other and how much we want to play for each other." 

The Axewomen finished the match hitting .182 as a team, beating the mark of .162 set by the Tigers. Acadia still struggled with errors, accumulating 27 to Dalhousie's 19. 

The Axewomen will be back in action at 7:00 pm on the 12th as they take on the 2-2 UNB Reds. The Tigers host the Moncton Aigles Bleues that same night at 6:00pm.