The Universite du Moncton Aigles Bleues beat the MUN Sea-Hawks 3-1 (25-15, 25-15, 22-25, 29-27) at Dalplex in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday, November 21.
The Aigles Bleues called an early timeout after the Sea-Hawks quickly surged out to a 9-4 lead behind two kills and strong services from Sarah Trowbridge (Sunnyside, NL).
However, an ace for Charlie Benoit (Saumarez, NB) shifted the momentum in Moncton’s direction and the Aigles Bleues closed in on the Sea-Hawks lead – 10-8.
The Aigles Bleues continued on in top-form and led the first set 16-14 at the technical timeout.
With 12 impressive digs in the first set, Aigles Bleues setter Cassidy Martin (Dieppe, NB) ensured that the Seahawks were held to only a single point after the technical timeout.
Led by Joanie Arsenault (Tracadie-Sheila, NB), Anne Paquette (Baie Sainte-Anne, NB) and Abigail Pallister (Moncton, NB) the Aigles Bleus won the first set 25-15.
The trend continued through the first half of the second set which saw the Sea-Hawks struggle to match the offensive output of the Aigles Bleues who held a 16-5 lead the technical timeout.
Paquette, who had a great serving performance overall, had five kills by the end of the second set and helped close out a dominant set for the Aigles Bleues with a final score of 25-15.
Cecilie Dumaresque (St. Johns, NL) – who was leading the Sea-Hawks scoring with four kills – opened the third set with a huge first point after a great rally.
The Sea-Hawks led 16-11 at the technical timeout behind notable scoring performances from Dumaresque, Trowbridge, and Janeen Pellatt (Yorkton, SK).
The Sea-Hawks narrowly edged out the Aigles Bleues and won the third set 25-22.
Jenna Poole (Winnipeg, MB) opened the fourth set for the Sea-Hawks with a great serving round that saw Memorial take an early 6-3 lead.
However, Pallister (10 kills at technical timeout) helped mount an Aigles Bleus comeback that saw them pull ahead to a 16-12 lead by the technical timeout of the fourth set.
In a neck-in-neck battle down the stretch, the Aigles Bleues and the Sea-Hawks traded a difference of one point until the Sea-Hawks called a timeout with the score at 22-21 for Moncton.
In an absolute nail-biter of an ending, the Aigles Bleues claimed a 29-27 win in the fourth set and a 3-1 win.
Cassidy Martin was awarded Subway Player of the Game for the Aigles Bleues with a stat-line of 46 assists, seven digs, and three kills
Cecelie Dumeresque was the player of the game for the Sea-Hawks with 11 kills, and eight digs.
Both teams will return in 2022 with the Aigles Bleues first playing the UNB REDS on January 12 and the Sea-Hawks facing off against the Dalhousie Tigers on January 14.