REDS Rally Falls Short

(FREDERICTON, NB) The Sherbrooke Vert et Or were victorious Saturday afternoon scoring a straight sets win over the UNB REDS in RSEQ men’s volleyball action at UNB’s Richard J. CURRIE CENTER.

Sherbrooke won with scores of 25-18, 25-23, and 26-24.

The Vert et Or were led by Sebastien Lapensee (Montreal, QC) who had four kills, two service aces and three digs on the day.

“It’s been a great weekend for us,” said Lapensee. “They pushed us, but we responded well and we’re happy with the win.”

The first set was a back and forth affair, but Sherbrooke was able to pull away in the end taking the set 25-18 capped off by a kill from Lapensee.

UNB would get out to a quick start in the second set taking a 6-3 lead.

The REDS were unable to hold off their opponent though as Sherbrooke responded with an 8-4 run to keep things close and ultimately take the set 25-23 off an attack error from UNB’s Rafael Hilario (Rio de Janero, BRA).

In the third set, UNB would again jump out to a lead thanks to a 5-1 to start. The Vert et Or were able to battle back though and jump ahead 9-8. 

Both teams would trade runs in a heavily contested third set, but the Vert et Or would eventually close out the set 26-24 and take the match in straight sets, 3-0. 

Sherbrooke’s serving was the turning point in the game, as the Vert et Or has 10 service aces.

“I think it’s the serve that does the job for us,” said Lapansee. “We served very well and that put us in a situation where we could block and defend easily.”

UNB was led by Hilario, who had ten kills and five digs, and Jacob Harris (Clarenville, NL), who helped with nine kills of his own.

“I thought we did pretty good on some things today,” said Harris. “They had consistent serve pressure on us throughout the game and we couldn’t really keep up with them at the beginning. I was happy with how we were able to find our groove in the end though, despite the loss.”

Both teams return to action on Friday.

The Vert et Or are home to Laval. Game time is 7:30pm Eastern.

The REDS visit Montreal. First serve is scheduled for 8:00pm Atlantic.

“We just need to work on being more consistent as a team,” said Harris. “We had a lot of great plays and a lot of things that we should’ve done differently so we just have to work on consistency throughout the rest of the semester.”

RECAP BY: Evan Richtsfeld/UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics