Reds Push Carabins To Five Sets

(FREDERICTON, NB) l'Universite de Montreal Carabins, U SPORTS No. 5 ranked team in Canada, rallied from being down two-sets-to-one to beat the UNB Reds 3-2 in a five-set thriller on Friday night.

Alexandre Lafontaine (Lasalle, QC) earned Player of the Game for the Carabins. 

Montreal won with scores of 25-18, 22-25, 26-28, 26-24 and 15-12.

"Montreal is very efficient, and they put the pressure on us," said Reds hitter Connor McConnell (Hanwell, NB). "There was a bit of a lack of execution and that's what spread the score and made them come out in the end."

UNB falls to 2-and-3 while Montreal improves to 6-and-1.

The two teams went back and forth to start the game, finding themselves tied 11-11 early in the first set. 

Montreal would grab the first significant advantage and keep the Reds at a distance to take the set 25-18.

The second set saw the teams play even tighter, with both sides having to stay resilient and overcome deficits. 

UNB went up 11-7 to start, only to have Montreal rattle off four straight points to tie it 11-11. UNB went ahead again, 17-14, to which the Carabins managed to push back and tie at 18-18.

The Reds would surge once more with some perfectly executed plays down the stretch to edge the Carabins 25-22 and tie the game 1-1.

The Reds would face their greatest deficit in the third set, trailing 20-15. 

But UNB would recover to tie the set at 21, only to get pushed to the brink when Montreal took another lead, 24-22. 

The Reds would then bounce back with three straight points to put the Carabins on the edge 25-24.

After Montreal forced ties at 25 and 26, UNB would finally gain the edge to take the set 28-26 and a 2-1 lead.

"We definitely competed, but we know we are not where we want to be. Lots of positives tonight, but still lots of work to do," said McConnell.

The momentum fuelled the Reds heading into the fourth set as they led for the majority. 

The Carabins stayed pesky, showing some resiliency of their own, edging UNB 26-24 to force a deciding set.

With the momentum in their court, the Carabins capitalized and pulled away from the Reds in the fifth, taking the final set 15-11 for a 3-2 win.

"Going to five with them shows that we are capable of doing what we want to do later on in the season," said McConnell.

McConnell had a team high 18 kills and 18 digs for the Reds, while Eduardo Luchese (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) followed with 14 kills and 10 digs of his own.

Youssef Baati (Montreal, QC) led Montreal with 19 kills and eight digs while Gabriel Chancy (Montreal, QC) had a game-high 58 assists.

The two teams will play each other again on Saturday, at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center. Game time is 1:00pm.

RECAP BY: Jonathon James/for UNB Athletics

PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics