Halifax – The Saint Mary's University Huskies Women's Volleyball team returned to the court Saturday night as they played host to their cross-town rival Dalhousie University Tigers in AUS Women's Volleyball action.  

The opening set saw the visiting Tigers pace the action as this tilt between the two would be a see-saw battle of non-stop volleyball action.  The Tigers would push their lead and rally for some crucial points to take the set 27-25 behind the strong attacking of Sarah Dawe.  Saint Mary's matched the Tigers behind the offensive prowess of Olivia Bell (Lahave NS /Commerce). 

The second set saw the Tigers again pace the lead as they pushed the offensive tone but the feisty Huskies held their own in a set that never saw the two teams separated by more than 2 points.  A late surge by Dalhousie on a string of offence by Dawe and Victoria Turcot vaulted the visitors to a 25-22 set win.  

Down 2 sets to 0, the Huskies continued to grind it out as they looked to keep the match alive in the third set in the tight contest where a large lead was to be as large as two points. The offence of Bell and Megan Bruhm (Hubley NS / Commerce) saw the hosts rally for a hard fought 28-26 set win to keep the match alive.  

The home squad seemed to catch a bit of fire with the third set win in the fourth as they looked to force a decided fifth set against the Tigers.  Paced by the tactical setting of Jakobie Friesen (Barrie ON / Science) feeding bell, Bruhm and Anica Jestratjevic (Serbia / MBA) the Huskies controlled the set for a 25-16 win.  

The final set in this two-and-a-half-hour match saw the Huskies keep momentum rolling with strong offence and the consistent serving of Madeline Watson (Brampton ON / Science) to take this grueling contest with a 15-10 fifth set victory.  

Huskies setter Friesen was AUS Subway Player of the Game with 51 assists. Bruhm finished with 17 kills and Bell 15 for the Huskies.  The Tigers were led by Dawe and Turcot with 15 kills apiece. 

Both squads return to this upcoming weekend in multiple matches as Dalhousie plays host to the AUS in season tournament in Halifax November 19-21.