The #10 Varsity Reds men’s volleyball team had this past weekend off after their first interlock tournament hosted by Laval the previous weekend.  UNB left Quebec City with a 1-2 record, losing to #2 Laval (3-1) and Sherbrooke (3-0), but beating Montreal (3-1).  The biggest loss of the weekend for the Varsity Reds, however, was 5th year middle and captain, Jacob Kilpatrick (Saint John, NB).  Jacob went down midway through the very first set of the interlock against Laval with a dislocated left shoulder, an injury he suffered on two previous occasions.

UNB will set their sights on conference rivals, #8 Dalhousie Tigers, for two matches at the Dalplex this coming weekend.  This will be the first meeting of the teams since the AUS finals last year where UNB fell to the Tigers two straight.  It is still uncertain whether Kilpatrick will be in the line-up or not, but McMorran knows his team needs to be prepared regardless.

“When Jacob left the game against Laval, our team did not respond well.  There’s no question that we missed his presence, but unfortunately every aspect of our game seemed to suffer, and this continued on into both the Montreal and Sherbrooke matches, where we were fortunate to come out with one of those.  It was a good learning experience, however, as injuries are a part of the game, and we have to be prepared to step up in those situations.  Dalhousie also have a couple of injuries to their starting line-up, but they are still an excellent squad regardless, and we’ll have to be ready to battle hard.”

Match times this weekend are Friday, November 12th, at 8:00pm and Saturday, November 13th, at 2:00pm.   Both games can be seen live on www.ssncanada.ca