By Ilyas Kurbanov

(Halifax, NS) – The Tigers lost their season opener to the visiting UNB Reds 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 24-26 and 21-25) in RSEQ men's volleyball action Friday night at Dalplex. 

The Tigers and the Reds came out aggressive and didn't waste any time as the back and forth was the name of the game early on. Both the Tigers and the Reds refused to give the advantage to one or the other. 

As the first set progressed, the Tigers and the Reds kept at it, but at the technical timeout, the Reds led 16-15 with Eduardo Luchese's (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) five kills on eight attacks. The Tigers kept it close, but the first set went to the Reds 25-22. Luchese finished the set with eight kills on eleven attacks. 

Ethan Boyd (Summerside, PE) and Justin Cross (Winnipeg, MB) finished the set with four kills apiece. 

After losing the first set, the Tigers came out aggressive, getting five-straight kills and taking a 5-2 lead early on. The Tigers continued attacking and forcing the Reds on their backs, taking an 11-6 lead in the second set forcing Reds coach Dan McMorran to call a timeout. 

The Tigers led at the technical timeout of the second set, 16-10. They continued to ride the momentum and took the second set 25-17. The team effort paid off as Michael Donovan (London, ON) added ten kills to the Tigers box. 

The third set looked much more like the first one – both teams were active and aggressive from the start. The back and forth continued, but Donovan was on fire as he added two back-to-back aces and a kill, forcing the Reds to call a timeout and make adjustments. 

At the technical timeout of the third set, the Tigers led 16-15. Things did not change after the timeout. Both teams put on a show with impressive saves and kills, but the nail-biting set went to the Reds 26-24. 

Donovan and Luchese led their teams with 18 kills and 17 kills, respectively. 

After regaining the momentum in the third set, the Reds didn't waste time and picked up where they left off as they took a 7-3 lead. The Reds extended the lead to 12-9 after Donovan and Luchese got two kills apiece for their respective teams. The Reds led at the technical timeout 16-15. 

The Reds continued to roll, as they took the fourth set 25-21 and the match 3-1. 

Donovan finished with 25 kills on 50 attacks, but attack errors cost the Tigers a lot of points; the Reds forced them to make a total of 25 mistakes. 

Luchese led the Reds with 22 kills on 36 attacks, earning the player of the game honours. 

Both teams will meet each other tomorrow at Dalplex. The first serve is at 1:00 p.m. AST.