(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB Reds rallied from a set down to beat the visiting York Lions 3-1, in exhibition play, on Saturday night, at UNB's Richard J. Currie Center.
"It was a great one to be in," said Reds head coach Dan McMorran. "One of our goals was to start fast in every set, and in every set we had a pretty generous lead."
Connor McConnell (Hanwell, NB) and first-year Red Thomas Vickers (Bible Hill, NS) each had 12 kills to lead UNB, while Brad Merryweather (New Maryland, NB) and Drew Duncan (Winnipeg, MB) had seven digs each.
Andrew Tauhid (Toronto, ON) scored a match-high 15 kills for the Lions, while Dan Everton (Penticton, BC) had 30 serve assists.
The Reds appeared to have an early advantage, taking a 16-13 lead into the technical time-out of the first set, but the Lions pulled even quickly after break.
The teams were tied at 23, 24 and 25, before the Lions pulled ahead and won the opening set 27-25.
"They're physical," said McMorran, of the Lions. "They have good outside hitting and they made us pay a few times."
In the second set, the Reds built leads of 6-1 and 10-4 on the strength of some strong defensive play.
At the technical time-out, UNB was up 16-8.
Three straight service aces from Vickers gave UNB a 24-14 lead, and the Reds went on to win the second 25-15 and tie the match 1-1.
"I'm really proud of his performance out there," said McMorran, of Vickers. "It says that we made the right decision, bringing a kid like that in. He's a quality character. He's a great student and he also has an athleticism that we're looking for."
"He was in a couple of pressure situations and really performed well. Some of the kills that he got weren't on in-system sets, he got out of system sets."
The third set was much closer, with the teams drawing even at 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, and the Reds leading 16-15 at the technical time-out.
A big block from second-year Red Eduardo Luchese (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) and kills from Brad Steward (Wolfville, NS) and McConnell pushed the Reds to a 25-19 set victory for a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth set, UNB used the power game of Luchese and McConnell to establish a 13-8 edge and take a 16-10 lead into the technical time-out.
Steven Randall (Hanwell, NB) served three straight points to put the Reds in front 19-14, and UNB went on to win the set 25-17 and take the match 3-1.
"I think we got exactly what we needed coming out here," said Lions head coach Nathan Groenveld. "It's definitely a different style than some of the stuff that we've seen. Physical across the board, really disciplined in their systems, they served and passed really well, and they hit for high efficiency."
The Lions head to Halifax for a pair of pre-season games against the Dal Tigers.
The Reds will now begin their final preparations for their 2019-2020 RSEQ regular season opener. That takes place on Friday, October 25th, at Sherbrooke.
RECAP BY: Andy Campbell/UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics