In their quest for the AUS title, the Varsity Reds are taking a well-deserved shortcut.
With two big wins at home to close out the regular season, UNB earned a first-round bye into the semi-finals along with Saint Mary’s. The club improved on last year’s fourth place finish at 9-9, finishing the 2010-11 campaign in second spot at 11-7.
After stumbling last Friday against UdeM, the Reds were forced to win both matches in the final weekend of play and they did not disappoint. The squad put together back-to-back wins taking down Cape Breton 3-0 and StFX 3-1.
“After last weekend, I was real proud with the way our girls responded,” said head coach John Richard. “Anytime you can get the bye, especially with the parity in our league, it’s a good thing.”
Powered by a capacity crowd during the Think Pink Week celebrations, the Reds came back from a four-point deficit to edge CBU 25-22 in the first set of Saturday’s match. Once the set was squared at 19, UNB veterans Jill Blanchard (Saint John, NB) and Erica Hay (Sussex, NB) took over and sealed the first frame.
Capers were not dissuaded by the UNB comeback and kept up the pressure in the second set, which saw eight lead changes. The teams traded points in exciting fashion until the Capers had UNB at their mercy with 25-24 lead. Unabashed, the Reds battled back from two set points and stunned CBU 30-28.
Riding the momentum from two comeback victories, the Reds took a 5-4 lead in the third set and didn’t look back. Without relinquishing the lead, UNB cruised to 25-22 win and shut out the Capers in three straight sets.
The win set the stage for Sunday’s vital match against StFX, with the winner getting the first-round bye and the loser taking the long road in the postseason.
In their final match at the LB Gym before moving to the Currie Center, the teams opened the match by trading sets. The Reds took the first set in a convincing manner 25-18, while the X-Women squared matters with 25-21 second set win.
From then on it was all V-Reds. Richard received concerted efforts from a variety of players in the final two sets. The three-headed attack of Amanda Bakker (Winnipeg, MB), Blanchard and Hay was too much for the X-Women as the Reds sailed to a 25-13 win. The Reds continued their strong play into the fourth and final set and Hay sealed the 25-19 with her second service ace.
Bakker led the way with 73 assists, ten digs, eight kills, five service aces and one block during her impressive weekend. Veterans Blanchard and Hay, the recipients of the majority of Bakker’s sets, devastated the competition with a combined for 51 kills, 44 digs and three service aces.
The strong play from the Reds granted them the desired first-round bye. The only downfall is that they will have limited time to prepare for their opponent. However, Richard is confident the group’s experience will pay off.
“There are about 4000 positives in getting the bye, but the one little negative is you can’t really prepare because you have no idea who you’re playing. We’re just going to focus all week on our own side. We’ve had the bye for four out of the past five years and we’ve got a lot of veterans that know how to fill in that 48 hours and know how to prepare once we find out who we play late Friday night.”
He simplified matters in revealing the true beauty behind the bye.
“If you’re not playing on Friday, you can’t lose on Friday. Anybody can win down there and only having to win two is a hell of a lot easier than having to win three.”
Bakker, Saturday’s player of the game, is excited for her first shot at an AUS title.
“I’m excited to put ourselves out there and see what we can do. I just feel that this is the year we can do it.”
Although Bakker is confident, she knows that all they can do is give it their all come this Saturday.
“No matter where we are in the season, we’re all trying to do our best on the floor. The best we can do now is to leave it all on the floor at the end day and play the best that we can.”
UNB will await Dalhousie, StFX or Moncton for Saturday’s semi-final matchup. The Reds swept the season series with the Tigers 2-0, while splitting against StFX and Moncton. The AUS Championships begin Friday Feb. 18 in Cape Breton.