Axewomen sweep opening weekend against Huskies
HALIFAX, NS – The Acadia Axewomen spoiled the Saint Mary's Huskies volleyball home opener, with the Axewomen defeating the Huskies in four sets (25-13, 27-25, 17-25, 25-21) on Saturday night at the Homburg Centre.
After defeating the Huskies in a five-set thriller on Friday night, the Axewomen looked determined to repeat that result in the first set, opening up a quick 2-0 lead, and never relinquishing it. A six point serving run from first year middle Mia Lemay-Evans (Azilda, ON) took the score from 16-12 to 22-12, and outside hitter Jenna Lake (Conception Bay South, NL) finished off the set with a kill, giving Acadia a 25-13 first set win.
The second set was tighter as Saint Mary's began finding success through their serves, with left side Brea De Souza (Oakville, ON) and right side Sydney Fader (Dartmouth, NS) each recording a pair of aces. But Acadia matched that with a pair of aces from Mia Lemay-Evans and Leah Weatherhead (Windsor Junction, NS), with Weatherhead going on a four serve run to take the score from 17-18 to 20-18 for the Axewomen. Saint Mary's was able to tie it up again at 25-25, but Acadia finished off the set 27-25, to take a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Saint Mary's started strong thanks to quality service from De Souza and big attacks from left side Emilia Mikanovich (Minsk, Belarus), opened up a quick 5-0 lead. Once again, the Axewomen were able to crawl back and cut the lead to 16-15, but Saint Mary's was able to secure the third set win off of a Mikanovich serving run, with a big block from Alena Piatukhova (Minsk, Belarus) capping off the set, 25-17 Huskies.
The fourth set saw Acadia back in control, with a service ace from outside hitter Allison Van Zeumeren (Brampton, ON) opening up a 11-4 lead. Saint Mary's was able to battle back and tie it at 17-17, with the two teams exchange points until the Axewomen took a 21-20 lead, and a Jenna Lake kill finished off the match, with the Axewomen winning the fourth set 25-21.
Acadia was led by outside hitter Allison Van Zeumeren who scored 12.5 points including seven kills, 11 digs, four service aces and three assists. Outside Hitters Mia Lemay-Evans and Leah Weatherhead each added 11 points, with Weatherhead chipping in a team high 13 digs. Katie MacLean led the Axewomen with 29 assists.
The Huskies were led by left side Brea De Souza, who put up a match-high 18 points, including 14 kills, 11 digs, four service aces and an assist. Emilia Mikanovich chipped in 12 points and a match-high 15 digs, while Grace Blaskovits led all players with 31 assists.
The Axewomen improve to 2-0 with the win, and will be back in action next weekend hosting the Memorial Sea-Hawks (2-0) for a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday in Wolfville, NS.
The Huskies drop to 0-2 on the season and will hit the road next weekend, visiting the UNB REDS (0-2) on Friday and Saturday in Fredericton, NB.
Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics