Fredericton, NB - The St. Thomas University Tommies ended their regular season campaign with a clean 3-0 sweep over the Mount Allison University Mounties Saturday evening at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. Set scores were 25-22, 25-13 and 25-23.
Abby Lanteigne (Fredericton, NB) led the Tommies in kills with 11 with 13 points and seven digs. Standout rookie Kathleen Boyle (Fredericton, NB) finished off her strong first regular season with 10 kills and 12 points while senior Danica Godin (Fredericton, NB) had seven kills. Julia Campbell (Sussex, NB) finished with 27 assists.
On the Mounties side, Chloe Nichols led the way with 10 kills while Logan Tait had 24 assists and three kills.
The Mounties held their ground with the heavy hitting Tommies, despite the scoreboard displaying a sweep. After the Tommies jumped to a 4-1 lead, the Mounties came swinging back to take a 10-7 lead, which included a 7-1 run at one point. The Tommies answered with six straight points, jumpstarted by a Mounties error. MTA couldn't find their way back into the lead, getting as close as one point.
The Mounties' play went downhill in the second set, as STU made quick work of MTA by taking advantage of their errors. The Tommies started with a 10-4 lead, as the Mounties wouldn't come close with six errors in the set. Eden Comier (Fredericton, NB) ended the sets with back-to-back service aces, as the Tommies had six in the set. They'd finish the match with 10.
MTA tightened up in the third set, trying to avoid the sweep. Neither team could pull ahead, going point-for-point most of the set, with the largest lead being a 4-2 Mountie lead up until the 18th point. Kills from Boyle and Maddie MacGregor (Truro, NS) put STU up by four, as the Tommies closed in on the sweep. It looked as if the Mounties would pull off a last second comeback to force a fourth set would happen - an error from Lanteigne brought MTA within one point - until the Mounties serve soared out of bounds. The Tommies would end the regular season on a high note and clinch a first round bye at the ACAA Championships next weekend in Halifax.
STU's final record will be 14-4 - possibly finishing first pending the results of Mount Saint Vincent University's match with the Université Sainte Anne on Feb. 19.
MTA finishes with an even 9-9 record, fifth in the ACAA. They'll have a quarter-final date with the University of King's College Blue Devils next weekend.
