UNB sweeps to title

They are like the friend who invites you to dinner, then beats you to the last piece of garlic bread.

Except in this case the garlic bread is a championship banner and the friend is the UNB women's volleyball program.

For the eighth time in a row, the Varsity Reds won their annual pre-season tournament Sunday, this time with a straight sets victory over the Cape Breton Capers. Scores were 25-23, 27-25 and 25-23.

"We take a lot of pride in this tournament," UNB head coach John Richard said. "It's been around a lot longer than I have and we seem to always find ways to get on a roll and we have done it a lot of different ways against a lot of different opponents.

"We don't really talk much about the streak," Richard said. "I'm not even sure they'll know until they read it in the paper, but we've just always played well on our home floor, especially lately, and while we had some tight ones this weekend for sure, we found a way to squeeze it out when it mattered."

On Sunday, the Reds jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set, but allowed the Capers to fight back, evening the score at 14 after a Jill Blanchard serve went just a hair too deep. After trading points for the next few minutes, Rebecca Glancy brought up game point by redirecting the ball at the net and Blanchard ended it with a cross-court spike that Sussex product Hilary Cummings didn't have much of a chance at stopping.

In the second set it was more of the same. The Reds jumped out to an 8-2 lead and led 19-12 late, but watched in dismay as Jillian Latter-Cull recorded a trio of kills to put her team back in it. The Reds eventually won a nail-biter 27-25 when Blanchard recorded a kill down the sideline, then dropped a serve in the back corner for the win.

"We started well on every set," Richard said, "but we just couldn't finish. They are a determined, experienced group over there and while I liked our composure when it got late and tight it didn't need to be that tight in those first couple sets.

"That said, it is October, so playing that many tight games does benefit our team even if it was a little hard on the heart."

In the third set the Capers turned the tables on the Reds racing out to a 4-0 advantage and leading 8-6 at the first technical timeout, but it wasn't meant to be. The Reds pulled even on a couple of Caper mistakes and eventually took the set when rookie Celina Abba recorded a big block at the net. The block came after a long rally in which the normally unblockable Blanchard was stopped twice at the right side.

"That was an absolutely huge block and it was great for her and the whole team," said Blanchard, who finished with 14 kills and 15 digs. "To end on a play like that makes the win a little sweeter."

Following the match, Erica Hay was named tournament MVP while Blanchard was selected to the all-star team. Richard said he likes the opportunities having two hitters like Hay and Blanchard in his lineup will give the Reds this season. Hay played for Richard from 2005-2009 and is back studying education and using her final year of eligibility. Blanchard is also in her fifth year.

"You need two bangers out there on the wing and those two girls are as good as it gets," he said. "They can score, they do all the little things and we have a pretty good middle presence that can pass up and get them the ball."

The Capers advanced to Sunday's final by way of a straight-sets victory (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) over Acadia earlier in the day. The Reds received a bye to the final after going 4-0 in the round-robin portion. St. Francis Xavier University finished fourth with a four-set victory (21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-16) over the Universite de Moncton.

Other all-stars were Cummings and Kristen Ryan of Cape Breton, Heather Isenor of St. Francis Xavier, Jolaine Gallant of the Universite de Moncton and Nicole Davidson of Acadia.