Game recap by Dana Baker
HALIFAX, NS – The Carabins took the final match of their doubleheader weekend against the Tigers in straight sets.
A strong defensive presence at the net had the Carabins leading 8-3 in the first set, forcing the Tigers to take an early timeout to regroup. The Carabins did not let up, as four kills from Alexis Tournier (Laval, QC) and Youssef Baati (Montreal, QC) saw Montreal leading 16-6 at the technical timeout. The Carabins finished the set with a score of 25-14.
Baati served up an ace and forced three errors from the Tigers to start the second set with Carabins up 5-2. The Tigers answered back with an ace of their own from Ethan Boyd (Summerside, PEI) creating momentum that would have the Tigers leading for the first time in the match at 8-7. The set continued with Dalhousie creating and dropping one-point leads until Montreal pulled ahead and took the second set at a convincing 25-18.
The third set started off with a long rally finished with a kill from Boyd. The Tigers mounted a three-point run and led the Carabins 5-2. Two kills from Baati and a net violation from Dalhousie saw the end of the home team's points advantage. Montreal then took a runaway lead of 22-15. The Tigers nearly closed the gap but couldn't quite seal the deal and lost the set 25-21, and the match 3-0.
Tournier had an excellent match for the Carabins with a match-high 12 kills and eight digs, earning himself Player of the Game status. Malachy Shannon (Halifax, NS) was point leader for the Tigers with seven kills and five digs.
Montreal is back in action at Sherbrooke on January 31st and Dalhousie at Laval on February 7th.