HALIFAX, NS – Saint Mary’s left side Olivia Bell had a monster game with 17 kills, nine digs, four aces and two blocks to lead the Huskies to a four-set win (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 25-21) over the Memorial Sea-Hawks in Atlantic University Sport women’s volleyball action on Friday night at the Homburg Centre in Halifax.
While the All-Canadian Bell led the way, it was a true team effort for the Huskies victory, as they saw major contributions off the bench from several players including setter Olivia Kokkinen (Uxbridge, ON) who led the team with 14 assists and was named Player of the Game.
“Memorial came out well, they served really tough, they are a good blocking team, but we got most of our team in and it was a great team win,” said Kokkinen post-game. “I think it just shows our team culture, how much support we have for each other. We have full confidence in our bench that we can go in and get the job done and that’s what we did tonight.”
The Huskies started off the match with an early 3-0 lead, thanks to a service ace from Megan Bruhm (Hubley, NS) sandwiched between kills from the Belarusian connection of Emilia Mikanovich and Alena Piatukhova (Minsk, Belarus). The Sea-Hawks were able to battle back and tie the set at 5-5 after an ace from setter Karen Greek (Mount Pearl, NL) but Olivia Bell took over, recording seven kills and a block over the set, and back-to-back kills from Mikanovich and Bruhm finished off the set with the Huskies taking it 25-17.
The second set was more of the same – Saint Mary’s opened up an early 7-3 lead, but the Sea-Hawks battled back to make it 8-6, before Bell went on a long serving run including two aces over a seven point streak and the Huskies opened up a 15-6 lead. Huskies left side Brea De Souza (Oakville, ON) helped extinguish a Sea-Hawks comeback bid with back-to-back service aces, but it was a kill by Bell that finished off the set with another 25-17 win for the Huskies.
In the early goings of the third set it looked like the Huskies were ready for the sweep, as they once again opened up an early 7-4 lead. But the Sea-Hawks fought back thanks in part to some great service from outside hitter Lydia Grawer (St. Louis, MO) and strong play at the net from middle blocker Taylar Johnston (Nokomis, SK). A pair of kills by Syree Tucker (Kitchener, ON) brought the Huskies to set point, 24-21, but Memorial went on a five point streak led by service from Karen Greek and three kills from Lydia Grawer, and the Sea-Hawks came back to win the third set 26-24 and force a fourth set.
That win appeared to spark some momenteum in the Sea-Hawks, as the visitors started the fourth set with a 10-7 lead, with Emily Batt (Grande Prairie, AB) providing several kills. This time it was the Huskies who would battle back with a kill from Olivia Bell giving them the lead at 17-16. Another kill by Emily Batt tied the match at 21-21, but Bell had a kill to regain service and finished the match off with her fourth ace of the night, taking the fourth set 25-21 to win the match.
Olivia Bell led the Huskies with a game-high 22 points, including 17 kills, nine digs, four service aces, four assists and two blocks – the 2023 U SPORTS All-Canadian leads the conference in points and kills and also ranks top five in service aces and digs. Megan Bruhm chipped in 11.5 points on eight kills, two aces, six digs and three blocks, while Olivia Kokkinen dished out 14 assists off the bench earning Player of the Game honours.
For the Sea-Hawks, Emily Batt paced the team with 16 points on 13 kills, three aces and 10 digs. Lydia Grawer added 12 points on eight kills, three aces, two blocks and 11 digs, and setter Karen Greek recorded a match-high 31 assists.
The win improves Saint Mary’s to 13-6 on the season, while the Sea-Hawks drop to 0-19. The two teams will face-off again to finish off the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 1 p.m. Atlantic, with the Huskies honouring graduating seniors Megan Bruhm, Paige Deering, Olivia Bell and Olivia Kokkinen before their final regular season game at the Homburg Centre. GET TICKETS
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