Last Week:
The Varsity Reds trained all week in preparation for hosting their annual UNB Invitational Tournament. MONCTON (2008-09 AUS Champions), ACADIA (an AUS semi-finalist last season), STFX (who captured the Dalhousie Invitational Tournament a few weeks ago) and CAPE BRETON (who recently returned home from the Brock Tournament with a 3-1 record against OUA teams) joined the V-Reds. Entering the event UNB had captured seven consecutive Gold Medals at the event. The Varsity Reds dressed twelve players with only fourth-year setter Alyson Clow (Kensington, PEI) still out with mononucleosis.
CBU 1 @ UNB 3 (25-20, 24-26, 34-32, 25-15)
Game Notes:
-5th year left-side Jill Blanchard led the Varsity Reds in points with 17 points.
-4th year middle Tanya Paulin (Bathurst, NB) played her first match (start to finish) of the season scoring 16 points including 4 stuff blocks and 5 service aces, while 5th year left-side Erica Hay (Sussex, NB) scored 14 points.
-During set three, which lasted 34 minutes, each team had game point 3+ times.
STFX 1 @ UNB 3 (25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23)
Game Notes:
-5th year left-side Erica Hay scored 15 points while 2nd year right-side Rebecca Glancy (Toronto, ON) had 11 points.
-11 of the 12 players dressed for the V-Reds saw floor time, while STFX’s Catherine Thornton (2009-10 CIS 1st Team All-Canadian) saw only limited floor time and Katherine Ryan (2009-10 AUS All-Star) did not dress as both are recovering from injuries.
MONCTON 2 @ UNB 3 (21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11)
Game Notes:
-5th year left-side Jill Blanchard led UNB with 14 kills, 14 digs and 21 points.
-2nd year setter Amanda Bakker (Winnipeg, MB) had 42 assists and 11 points.
-5th year left-side Erica Hay finished with 10 kills, 11 digs and 17 points.
-UNB trailed game three 0-8 and 2-10 before coming back and almost stealing it (eventually losing 23-25).
ACADIA 0 @ UNB 3 (25-17, 25-15, 25-19)
Game Notes:
-5th year left-side Erica Hay had 14 kills and 15 points while 2nd year setter Amanda Bakker had 32 assists.
-4th year middle Tanya Paulin had 10 kills on 18 swings to hit .444%.
-3rd year libero Monica Jones (Ajax, ON) had 14 digs to lead the match.
CBU 0 @ UNB 3 (25-23, 27-25, 25-23) – Championship Final
Game Notes:
-5th Year left-side Jill Blanchard led UNB with 14 kills, 15 digs and 20 points.
-4th Year middle Tanya Paulin had 9 kills on only 13 swings to hit an impressive .615% to go along with 14 points.
-The V-Reds led by scores of 6-1 and 19-12 in set one and by scores of 9-2 and 17-11 in set two only to see the Capers fight back to almost steal both games.
Other Tournament Results:
MONCTON 3 vs. STFX 1
CBU 3 vs. ACADIA 0
ACADIA 3 vs. MONCTON 0
CBU 3 vs. STFX 1
ACADIA 3 vs. STFX 2
CBU 3 vs. MONCTON 2
(2nd) CBU 3 vs. (3rd) ACADIA 0 - Semi-Final
(5th) STFX 3 vs. (4th) MONCTON 1 - 4th Place Match
Tournament Awards:
Nicole Davidson – Acadia (All-Star)
Jolaine Gallant – Moncton (All-Star)
Heather Isenor – STFX (All-Star)
Jill Blanchard – UNB (All-Star)
Kristen Ryan – CBU (All-Star)
Hilary Cummings – CBU (All-Star)
Erica Hay – UNB (MVP)
Final Tournament Standings:
1st – UNB (5-0)
2nd – CBU (4-2)
3rd – ACADIA (2-3)
4th – STFX (1-4)
5th – MONCTON (1-4)
Coach’s Comments:
“The CBU match was a good effort right off the bat. I thought our battle level was pretty good, I just wished we finished a little better. They are such a solid team and are really strong down the middle so it is a difficult match-up. We lacked a lot of energy and jump against STFX especially as the match progressed. We’ll need to play with a lot more emotion next time we see that team if we want to have any type of success. We struggled with our ball control a little against Moncton which makes things so difficult as we can’t use our middles. They dig so many balls especially when they know where we have to set, so we’ll need to keep working on first contact. I thought both of our 5th year left-sides, Jill and Erica, came up big in that match especially late and Bakker was real solid as well. The Acadia match late Saturday night to complete the round-robin wasn’t a true reflection as Acadia used somewhat of a different line-up. However it allowed us to get some much needed playing time to some of our younger athletes, which was positive. I really liked our start against CBU in Sunday’s final, we just let down midway through both of the first two sets. Tanya was very good against two tough middles and I thought Jill played her best match of the weekend.”
UNB Team Record:
Conference Play 0 – 0
Non-CIS Exhibition Play 1 – 0
CIS Exhibition Play 6 – 4
Playoff Results 0 – 0
Overall Record 7 – 4
Upcoming:
The Varsity Reds will now take Monday off before training Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday evening, Thursday evening and Friday morning. Late Friday morning the team will depart Fredericton for Sydney, Nova Scotia. UNB will play at Cape Breton on Saturday at 1:00pm before travelling back to Antigonish on Saturday evening in preparation for their match at 1:00pm Sunday against STFX.