Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas University Tommies and the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves engaged in a tight battle on Saturday at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym, with the Tommies taking the win in four sets. UNBSJ led for most of three sets but STU squeak out the win by a score of 25-21, 25-20, 19-25 and 25-15.
The first set began tight with Maddie MacGregor (Truro, NS) breaking the tie with a strong kill, putting STU up 4-3. UNBSJ followed up with two points but Kathleen Boyle (Fredericton, NB) would dig to give Abbly Lanteigne (Fredericton, NB) the kill for STU to tie it at five. STU extended their lead to 15-8, but after some miscommunication and missed blocks, the Seawolves stayed in the set. The Tommies would eventually win the first set 25-21.
The Seawolves took a quick lead in the second set and kept it all the way until their seventeenth point, when STU started a comeback to eventually go up 21-17. The Tommies took the second set 25-20. UNBSJ started the third set strong, leading 7-5 after STU made some passing errors. The Tommies would get points off ¾ of Julia Campbell's (Sussex, NB) serves, to shorten the Seawolves' lead. Despite this, UNBSJ stayed strong and won the third set by a score of 25-19.
After the third set loss, Tommies' head coach Don Mackay's message to the team was to "get that first pass and run our offense."
The last set was once again a tight race for the first half, but the Tommies took off and won it 25-15, with notable kills from Ryley Horton (Calgary, AB), Abby Lanteigne (Fredericton, NB) and Kathleen Boyle.
Mackay says passing was the problem for his team today.
"We had moments when we didn't pass very well and to give Saint John credit, they didn't quit," said Mackay.
Kathleen Boyle led the Tommies in kills with 14, while Emily Robichaud (Fredericton, NB) led the Seawolves with 13. Dominique Gendron boasted four service aces for the Seawolves.
Though the team had a few injuries, STU managed to pull off the win in their last game of the first half. Both teams are next in action on January 14th , with STU hosting the Holland Hurricanes, and Seawolves visiting the Universite de Sainte-Anne.
Recap by: Martina Barclay.
