Reds stun Tigers, earn home court advantage

It wasn’t just a weekend sweep. It was a statement.

It seems Dalhousie’s 24 years of tyrannical rule over the AUS men’s volleyball conference is in jeopardy after being swept by UNB in a pair of matches to close out the 2010-11 regular season.

The Reds not only defeated Dal for the first time in three seasons, they did in stunning fashion by not losing a single set. They ended their impressive 2010-11 season at 11-6 and atop the AUS standings.

“I think everybody has their best performances this weekend,” said UNB head coach Dan McMorran.

“I think it’s fantastic for our program. I think it’s fantastic for our guys. Somebody asked me if I was surprised that we swept? The answer is no. I’m not surprised we swept them, I’m surprised at the scores.”

Saturday’s match was by no means a tight affair. The UNB team played like a squad possessed and the score was indicative of just that.

To the delight of the capacity crowd, the Reds jumped out to a quick 14-9 lead over the 24-time defending champs. The two-headed attack of Matt Sweet (O'Leary, PEI) and Julio Fernandez (Los Teques, Venezuela) was running rampant and proved too much for the Tigers as UNB coasted to a 25-15 first set win.

The offensive onslaught continued into the remainder of the match. UNB’s prowess at the net was overwhelming the Dal defenders and the Reds easily took the final two sets 25-16 and 25-18.

The victory marked the UNB’s win over Dal since Feb. 15, 2008.

“It’s the first time in I think three years that we’ve kept the pressure on a team like Dalhousie in an entire match,” said an extremely pleased McMorran.

The Reds carried that pressure into Sunday’s final match, a battle for home court advantage in the AUS final series.

The Tigers offered stiffer competition in the rematch, but UNB’s offensive pressure remained at a high level. The usual suspects for the Reds were all over the court defending and producing a lethal attack.

Dal kept pace with the Reds in the first set closing the gap to 20-18, but that’s as close as they would get. UNB would not relinquish their lead and edged the Tigers 25-22.

Apparently that was too close for UNB, because they didn’t let Dal back in the match from that point on. The combination of stellar offensive play and a multitude of unforced errors committed by the Tigers let the Reds take the final two sets 25-17 each.

UNB’s attack was the focal point of the weekend’s success and McMorran immediately knew where it originated.

“Stephane Fontaine (New Maryland, NB) had his best sets of his entire career so far and that’s going to be key for us down the stretch. If he doesn’t play well as well as he does, we don’t have Julio and Matt Sweet getting the percentages we rely on.”

Fontaine recorded 63 assists, 12 digs and three blocks during the weekend, while Sweet pitched in 11 kills, 17 digs and one block. Fernandez was not to be outdone posting an impressive 28 kills, eight digs and two service aces.

McMorran was thrilled with his club’s play. Although he does see room for improvement, he likes how his squad is performing. 

“We didn’t play perfect. In each of the sets on both days we missed three consecutive serves in a row. Usually, we’re giving up eight-point runs when that happens, but we continued to side-out after plays like that,” said the Reds’ bench boss.

“So, our guys right now are in a pretty good mindset. We’re focused. We’re starting to buy into some technical things here and it’s paying off right now.”

McMorran noted they’d be facing a different Tigers team in their upcoming playoff series.

“I’m expecting the same UNB team, but I’m expecting a better Dalhousie team. A Dalhousie team that’s probably not going to be making some many unforced errors.”

Fontaine, the UNB setter, echoed his coach’s words in saying the squad must avoid becoming complacent because Dal should always be taken seriously.

“We can’t be sitting on this win here, thinking that we’ve already got it. We’ve got to keep going hard and try to beat these guys next weekend.”

Dal and UNB will start their best-of-three series for the AUS title and a place in the CIS Championships Friday Feb. 18 at the LB Gym. Fontaine is pleased with the home court advantage, yet remains resolute that UNB can win in any gym.

“It’s always a good feeling when you have your home crowd fans. You feel like you can play a little better sometimes, but either way we’re ready to play over there or here. No matter what we’re ready to play them.”