Tale of the Tiger continues
The V-Reds hosted perennial Atlantic Conference-champion Dalhousie Tigers on Sunday afternoon in the second leg of the best-of-three AUS final before 140 raucous fans at the UNB main gym.
The V-Reds had lost in a sweep Friday night in
"It's a tough loss to take because we know we're really close to them (Dal) in our level of play. We just couldn't find consistency to stay with them today," said Boldon, a fifth-year player from Charters Settlement who graduates with a Kinesiology degree with a minor in Business. "The thing that makes it easier to stomach is that they may actually win the CIS championship and I hope they do. They really are a good team."
Boldon casts a large shadow on the day, leading the Reds with 10 kills and adding two digs and one block. Teammate Tyler Veenhuis had seven kills and three blocks, while Kilpatrick and Stephane Fontaine each chipped in with six kills apiece. Dalhousie was led by Graeme Higgins and Sander Ratsep who tallied nine kills each and Devon Parkinson had seven kills to go along with nine digs and three blocks.
V-Reds' coach Dan McMorran, dejected with the loss, felt that consistency was the major weakness for his club on the day but spoke of a future filled with promise from a roster littered with talented undergraduates.
"We battled all year with consistency and that was the case today as we didn't seem to come alive until that third set (at one point UNB went on a seven-point run and took an 18-17 lead), but by then, it was too late," said McMorran. "But in fairness to our guys, that is a great Dalhousie team that has a fantastic chance to win the CIS banner.
"Our future is solid here with our young talent, especially guys like Julio (Outside Hitter and first year player Fernandez) and Stephane (freshman-setter Fontaine) who both played really well today and this season, took some lumps. They'll benefit from the experience next year and into the future for our program."
McMorran was complimentary of his graduating seniors Brett Watson (who didn't play against Dal), Riley and Kilpatrick.
"Losing all three of them is tough but Ryley and Jacob are particularly tough because they play such a vital role for us on the court,'' said McMorran. "Ryley is easily the most versatile player we've seen in our program at UNB. Today he played two positions and has played three throughout the season and he has that competitive edge that you want all your players to have," said McMorran.
"We're really hopeful that Jacob may come back for a fifth season, because he is every coach's dream. He gets it done in class (Kilpatrick has a 3.7 GPA in the demanding Civil Engineering program) and outside the classroom, he is a fantastic student-athlete, teammate and human being. I cannot say enough good things about him."
Kilpatrick was named an AUS all-star for the season, along with teammate Veenhuis, and was the 2008-2009 AUS nominee for the Dale Iwanoczko Award for outstanding achievement in volleyball, academics and community involvement. He ranked second in the conference in blocks, fourth in hitting percentage, and sixth in scoring.
"Dal is the second-ranked team in the country and they played a great match today, " said Kilpatrick who is considering an MBA or further engineering studies as options for next year.
"We had some nerves today and we just couldn't get comfortable until the third set and then it was too late to make much difference.
"I'm undecided about next year. But moving on would be tough. Everything I know about volleyball I learned here at UNB with Dan and it's a great program," said Kilpatrick, who followed in the footsteps of his mother Cathy (formerly Maxwell) in coming to UNB.
Cathy was a first team all-Canadian for the basketball Reds during the 1978-79 season. "The amount of improvement in me as a volleyball player over the last four years has been totally unreal here at UNB. I was able to develop as a volleyball player and a student, and it has been a really positive experience."
Boldon, an exceptional high school football and basketball player at FHS, agreed.
"I could have gone anywhere but UNB is a family tradition and there was no other consideration for me. It was going to be volleyball at UNB and I have no regrets at all. Dan, the program, the school, it was all outstanding for me."