Carabins top Tigers 3-0
The Tigers season came to an end with a three-set loss to the Montreal Carabins Saturday afternoon in the U SPORTS consolation semifinal #1.
QUEBEC CITY (U SPORTS) – With the heartbreaking defeat of the night before behind them, the Montréal Carabins found their bearings on Saturday during the consolation semifinal of the 2018 U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Championship presented by Hotel Universel Quebec, as they won 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-18) against the Dalhousie Tigers at the Université Laval PEPS.
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The RSEQ champions will play for fifth place Sunday at 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT. Montréal could find themselves in a rematch of the Quebec final if the host Laval Rouge et Or defeat the UBC Okanagan Heat later Saturday in the other consolation semi. On the other side, the Tigers' tournament is over. Dalhousie, who won the fifth-place match a year ago, will have to settle for seventh place this year.
"It was very difficult yesterday. We set aside some time to digest the loss and to let it out. It gave us the room to prepare afterwards," said Carabins head coach Olivier Trudel. "We decided to go as far as possible in the tournament, even if it finished abruptly for us. The girls responded well today."
On the losing side, head coach Rick Scott was philosophical.
"Montreal is a very good team," he said. "The first couple of sets made the difference I think. We made too many mistakes and didn't really put pressure on them. We were a little bit inconsistent and if you do that against a team with this type of offense it makes it very tough."
Despite the weekend's two defeats, Scott saw a lot of positive in the Tigers performance in Quebec City.
"I'm really proud of the team. We are going to take a lot from this competition. We were close yesterday. We are going to be better because of this experience."
The rivalry between Montreal and Laval, perennial RSEQ rivals, could re-ignite on Sunday. For Trudel, the opponent matters little.
"We know that our opponent tomorrow will have size," he said. "It will be an excellent volleyball match, whether it's against Laval or UBC Okanagan. We certainly would like to finish with a win and go get fifth place tomorrow. It's something realistic for us."
The Carabins player of the game, libero Stéphanie Lojen, had 13 digs in the match. On the Tigers side, the honours went to outside hitter Emma Ciprick, who racked up three kills, a solo block and four digs.
Players of the Game
Montréal: Stéphanie Lojen
Dalhousie: Emma Ciprick