Axewomen top feisty Aigles Bleues with a 3-1 win

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – It took a fourth set score of 26-24 to grab a 3-1 match win over the second-last place Moncton Aigles Bleues.

While the Aigles Bleues have only had two wins this season, they played against the Axewomen like it was a do-or-die situation.

“Moncton is a tremendous defensive team. They played well tonight on both sides of the ball,” said Axewomen head coach Michelle Wood. “We focused on having vision on our offense and sharing information about what shots were available because their defense is hard to break through.”

Wood also added, “Charlie (Charlotte Dean) ran a very effective match, creating many isolations, allowing us to come out with the win.”

 Moncton grabbed an early 4-1 lead in the opening set, but Acadia fought back to tie the game at six on a Moncton attack error.

A one-point margin ended when kills by Jenna Lake (Conception Bay South, Nfld.) and Wesley-Ann Bailey (Ottawa, Ont.) gave the Axewomen some wiggle room at 16-13. Acadia extended the lead to 20-13, and eventually captured a 25-20 first-set win.

The Axewomen grabbed a close 25-22 win in the second set. Tied at 10 on a Taylor Witty (Dartmouth, N.S.) kill, the Axeowmen maintained a lead through the remainder of the second game.

A kill by Moncton’s Ivana Urquhart (Saint-Jean, N.B.) followed by an attack error and a service ace by Urquhart, closed the Acadia lead to 24-22, but a block by Erica Fisher (Middle Stewiacke, N.S.) and Sydney Zakutney (Ottawa, Ont.), crushed the hopes of a comeback by the Aigles Bleues.

Not to be swept in three, the Aigles Bleues made a statement in the third set. A service ace by Urquhart gave Moncton a 4-3 lead that would not be relinquished. Moncton pushed out to a 13-9 advantage on the play of Urquhart who posted a team-high nine kills and recorded a 25-20 third-game win.

Moncton burst out of the gates in the fourth set, grabbing a 5-1 lead on kills by Urquhart and Anne Paquette and two service aces by Gabrielle Leclair (Dieppe, N.B.).

Acadia fought back to tie the set at five on a Jenna Lake kill, but the Aigles Bleues would push out to a second lead of 9-5 before the Axewomen would rally back to tie the set at 12 on a kill by Taylor Witty.

A see-saw battle would end at 24-24 on an Erica Fisher kill. Sydney Zakutney‘s eighth kill of the night combined with an Aigles Bleues attack error gave the Axewomen a 26-24 fourth-set win and a 3-1 match victory.

Jenna Lake led the Axewomen with 12 kills, while teammates Taylor Witty and Erica Fisher each had 10 kills. Fisher posted 15.5 points and five block assists.

Charlotte Dean (Mississauga, Ont.), who was named the Subway Player of the Match, had 36 assists, while Rebecca Dorsey had a typical stellar match with 28 digs.

Urquhart led the Aigles Bleues with nine kills, while Gabrielle Leclair and Joanie Arsenault (Tracadie- Sheila, N.B.) added 8 kills. Five different Moncton players had double-digits in digs, but Emily Robichaud (Dieppe, N.B.) led the team with 21.

The Axewomen improve to 9-3 and remain in second place in the AUS standings with 18 points. The Saint Mary’s Huskies continue to trail Acadia with 16 points (8-4) in third place.

Moncton drops to 2-11 and travels to UNB on Saturday. The Axewomen play host the Memorial for two matches beginning this Saturday at 2:00 pm followed by a game on Sunday at noon.