Game recap by: Kirk Jessome
(Halifax, NS) – In the second day of action at the AUS/RESQ Interlock volleyball tournament hosted at the Dalplex, the Dalhousie Tigers were taking on l'Université de Montreal Carabins. The Carabins were aggressive offensively throughout the match, and their serving proved difficult to deal with, as they were able to take the 3-0 victory.
Montreal came out hard to start the set, quickly jumping out to an 11-2 lead over the Tigers. The Carabins serving was proving difficult for the Tigers as Louis-Karl Pedneault (Ottawa, ON) picked up two quick aces in the run.
Montreal continued to pick up kills as the set slipped away from the Tigers. The Carabins took the first set by with a sizeable 25-11 victory.
It started to look as if it might be more of the same in the second set, as Pedneault came out with two-straight kills and an ace to start to get the Carabins out to a 5-1 lead to start, but that sparked the Tigers.
The Tigers came back with a hard kill by Matthew Donovan (London, ON), and two big blocks on the defensive side. The Tigers chipped away at the lead with Matthew Woods (Halifax, NS) picking up three-straight kills, and the Tigers took a 16-13 lead into the timeout.
Montreal didn't give up in the set, they were able to keep it close with back-to-back kills from Alyson Francillon (Longueuil, QC). Points were traded back and forth, with the score tied up at 24-24.
The Tigers were able to get the first advantage, but Montreal came back with two kills from Francillon, and a hard serve from Mikaël Dagenais (Montreal, QC) to finish the set with an ace.
The Carabins took a 2-0 lead in the match after a 27-25 win in the second set.
The serving from Montreal continued to be their strong point, as Dagenais picked up three aces in a row that the Tigers didn't have an answer for early in the third set. Two kills from Godefroy Veyron-Trudel (Quebec, QC) took the Carabins into the technical break with a 16-10 lead.
The Tigers made a run late in the set, with a big block, and a kill from Kobe Shannon (Halifax, NS), the Tigers were within two.
The late spark wasn't enough for the Tigers as Pedneault finished the match off with his fourth ace and Montreal took the set 25-21 to take the 3-0 win.
The Tigers were led by Nicolas Faulkner (Truro, NS) with 6 kills, and Donovan with 5. Veyron-Trudel led the way for the Carabins with his game-high 17 kills in the match.
The Subway Player of the Game from Montreal was Alyson Francillon.
The Tigers are back tonight to play the late game of the Interlock against Sherbrooke. Montreal will also take on Sherbrooke in their next game at home on November 5th.