Game recap by: Kirk Jessome
(Halifax, NS) – In AUS women's volleyball action, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the Acadia Axewomen Sunday afternoon at the Dalplex. It was a fairly dominant offensive display for the Tigers with their serving making the biggest difference in the match as they took it 3-0.
The Axewomen came out of the gate with a fantastic start with a quick 3-0 lead on strong serving from Daniella Trodel (Regina, SK), but a hard kill from Emma Ciprick (Binscarth, MB) started a run of the Tigers picking up the next five points in a row to get right back in it.
The Tigers held a slight advantage throughout the first set, but Acadia stayed right with them on serving from Trodel as well as a big solo block from Lauryn Renzella (Stouffville, ON).
Serving was the big difference for the Tigers, as the Axewomen couldn't seem to control the serve of Julie Moore (Halifax, NS). The Tigers were able to close out the first set on a hard kill from Victoria Haworth (Waverley, NS) and take it 25-20.
The Tigers came out with two big plays to start the second set, as Courtney Baker (Bridgewater, NS) snuck a quick tip over for the kill, and then hammered home another one on the next play after a fantastic dig from Emma Ciprick.
This sparked the Tigers offense, with Baker spreading around the kills to four different hitters, and Julie Moore continuing to deliver a difficult serve, the Tigers went into the technical break up 16-5.
The Axewomen picked up the first two points out of the timeout on kills from Trodel and Bianca Ruiz (Ottawa, ON), but it was all Tigers after that as they quickly took care of the set 25-7. Strong serving from first-year Hannah Wilkie (Bridgewater, NS) gave the Tigers a big boost in the run, and the final kill was delivered by fellow first-year Victoria Turcot (Halifax, NS) to put the Tigers up 2-0.
The Axewomen looked like a different team starting the third set, getting out to a quick 6-2 lead. Defence was playing a big role for the Axewomen as Hannah Helm (Halifax, NS) not only delivered kills, but contributed to two big blocks to pick up points.
Victoria Haworth seemed to take it upon herself to bring the Tigers back into the set, as she hit two hard kills home, and delivered two aces in a row to give them the 7-6 lead and force Acadia to call timeout.
The Tigers serving continued to make it difficult for the Axewomen to generate clean offensive opportunities, but they stayed close in the set with their defense forcing hitting errors from the Tigers. The Axewomen put together a run generated from the serving of first-year Lucy Glen-Carter (Toronto, ON) who delivered three aces to bring Acadia within one.
The Axewomen put together a quick run late in the set after a big block by Helm and Taylor Collombin (Victoria, BC), but it was quelled by an emphatic kill from Victoria Haworth that led to the Tigers taking the final set. Victoria Turcot delivered the final kill of the match as the Tigers took the set 25-19, and the match 3-0.
Mieke DuMont picked up the Subway Player of the Game honours for the Tigers with her game-high 12 kills and seven digs.
Both teams will be back in action on Friday as part of the AUS League Tournament hosted by l'Université de Moncton. The Tigers will face Memorial, while Acadia will play the host team.