By Daniel Simpkin
The Tigers beat the Reds 3-1 (9-25, 25-18, 25-14, 25-17) at Dalplex in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday October 31st.
This was the second game of the weekend between the Tigers and the Reds. The first game was played the day before and the Tigers won 3-0.
The Reds opened to a hot start and scored five unanswered points in the beginning of the first set.
At the core of the UNB offence were Alia Nielsen (Morrin, AB), Emma Burns (Fredericton, NB) and Lydia Green (Bedford, NS) who secured the Reds a 16-7 lead at the technical timeout.
The Reds remained in top form after the technical timeout and won the first set handedly with a final score of 25-9 over Dalhousie.
The Tigers came out energized from the set change as Brett Boldon (Fredericton, NB) picked up an ace and nearly dug up the floor diving to save shots that set up kills for Sarah Dawe (Mount Pearl, NL) Julie Moore (Halifax, NS) and Myriam Arseneau (Ottawa, ON).
The Tigers offence held strong and led the second set 16-12 at the technical timeout.
Grace Calnan (Dartmouth, NS) and Victoria Turcot (Halifax, NS) prevented the Reds from mounting a comeback by providing crucial offence at the net which pushed the Tigers ahead late into the set and ultimately ensured Dalhousie the 25-18 win.
Heading into the third set the game was tied at 1-1.
Relying on their fearless libero Katelyn Chapman (Indian Mountain, NB), the Reds offence was in rhythm through the first few points of the third set. However, Calnan came up big for the Tigers with a huge block that shifted the momentum in Dalhousie’s favour.
The teams broke for the technical timeout of the third set when Moore served up an ace that gave Dalhousie a 16-8 lead over the Reds.
The scoring trend would continue for Dalhousie due to an excellent serving performance from Moore and creative shot making from Boldon and Dawe. Dalhousie’s Charlotte Arsenault (Ottawa, ON) stepped in to serve for the set point and the Tigers promptly closed out the third set 25-14.
The fourth set was a tight offensive battle that saw Turcot and Boldon driving the Dalhousie offence and Kristen Burns (Mississauga, ON) and Nielsen doing the same for the Reds.
The score was 16-13 for the Tigers at the technical timeout.
The Tigers offence did not let up and Boldon continued a phenomenal outing for Dalhousie. The Tigers won the fourth set 25-17 and the match 3-1.
Katelyn Chapman was awarded player of the game for the Reds with nine digs and one assist.
Dalhousie Tiger Brett Boldon was awarded Subway Player of the Game with 33 assists, four digs, two aces and one kill.
Next week, the Reds play the Memorial Sea-Hawks on November 5th and the Tigers face the Acadia Axewomen on November 6th.