TORONTO, Ont. - The Axewomen volleyball team completed a three day training session at Ryerson University over the Holiday season beginning with practice sessions on December 30th and 31st. Competition was lined up for January 2-4 at the Mattamy Athletic Complex (formerly known as Maple Leaf Gardens) with matches against host Ryerson, Guelph and Defensa (NCAA roster, and 2013 Canadian National Champions).

While the Axewomen lost all three matches including a 2-3 loss to Guelph, head coach Michelle Wood was pleased with the sessions and training period. "Our primary goals while training and competing in Toronto were to better our play each day to ensure that when we arrive back in Wolfville for regular season training and competition we are hitting the ground running. It provided us the exposure to out of conference competition to further prepare our team for the direction we're striving toward within the CIS".

Acadia loss 0-3 to Defensa including an openning 36-38 set. In their second match, the Axewomen fell short in a 2-3 loss to Guelph. Host Ryerson wrapped up the three match visit with a 3-0 win over Acadia.

An overall appraisal of the three match visit was summarized by Wood with a positive tone. "Each match we excelled in certain aspects of our game, now as we head back into regular season we're looking to combine all of these parameters to ensure consistent success moving forward".

Huge defensive efforts by several Axewomen over the three matches included libero Hillary Monette who posted 51 digs, while rookie outside hitter Sarah Ross and Meg Rector had 30 and 24 digs respectively.

On the blocking side, senior Kristen Bolduc recorded 5 solo blocks and 16 assisted, while Rector posted 3 solo and 13 assisted blocks. Second year middle Marissa Chin added 4 solo and 9 assisted blocks.

The Axewomen open up the second half of the regular season on the road this weekend as they visit the winless Cape Breton Capers on Sunday, January 12 at 2pm on AUStv.