Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas Tommies men's volleyball team was solid right out of the gate today, winning both of their first sets 25-18 against the UNBSJ Seawolves, with solid hitting from veteran and team captain, Christian Christie. They won the match in four sets, dropping the third, in a game that head coach Henri Mallet says "looked like the first game of the season for both sides. There were some great plays, and some, that as a coach, you're not as happy with, but that's what volleyball's about."

Entering the match, coach Mallet says they knew the Seawolves had many veteran players, adding that "they have a lot of local guys, and we knew they were going to compete the whole match." Compete, they did. The Seawolves took a tight third set 25-23 after the Tommies "didn't respond as needed" to added pressure. Mallet says what got the team in trouble was a lack of defensive plays, and "those little things, like when we had the chance to put away the ball in the key moments, we didn't." 

Despite dropping a set, the men got the win and showcased a clear powerhouse player, Gustavo Loblato. All the way from Brazil, Loblato led the charge in blocks and wowed the crowd with his serve. Additionally, Christian Christie was consistent as usual with his serve, with three aces in the first set, including the set point.

Coach Mallet says though offensively they could be a bit better, overall he thinks veteran Henry Doucet ran pretty good offense today, and was happy with the passing. This week, the team looks to learn from mistakes made under pressure today and "bounce back next weekend and be a bit cleaner."

Recap: Martina Barclay