FREDERICTON - After splitting the first weekend of AUS play, the UNB women’s volleyball team came back with two home wins improving to 3-1 on the season.
The Reds took on a surprising squad from Memorial in a doubleheader homestand, which marks the only two home matches for UNB this semester. Even though it was scrappy, hard-fought volleyball, Erica Hay (Sussex, NB) was still thrilled with the weekend’s efforts.
“It was a really positive thing because our league is so tight. We played four league games and this was the first one we won in three [sets], the other three were in five. So, that puts us at 3-1 and that’s pretty good going into Halifax next weekend.”
The V-Reds were caught flat-footed off the start in Saturday’s match allowing the Sea-Hawks to open a 17-10 lead. The Memorial squad, fueled by a strong net presence, hung on comfortably to take the first set 25-18.
After the rude awakening, the Reds played a much better second set. The Sea-Hawks did their best to keep pace with UNB, but some strong serving from Taylor MacDonald (Bathurst, NB) and Hay was too much for MUN as the Reds cemented the 25-16 win.
The two clubs traded sets with UNB taking the third 25-21 and MUN edging the home squad 25-22 in the fourth, pushing the match to a fifth and final set.
The deciding set saw tense, back and forth action with neither side letting the other steal the match. Yet, Reds veteran Jill Blanchard (Saint John, NB) took over when it was 10-10 and pushed her squad to victory. Coupled with some timely serving from Amanda Bakker (Winnipeg, MB), Blanchard’s play solidified a 15-11 fifth set win to take the match.
Bakker, the player of the game, was one of the standouts for the Reds with four kills, 30 assists, three service aces, and 10 digs. Blanchard was her usual self as well in picking up 21 kills, 10 digs and five block assists.
The match was riddled with errors and lackluster defensive play from sides, but head coach John Richard was still pleased with the end result.
“I thought we didn’t play very well last night. It was an ugly two and a half hour match and I don’t know how we got out of there with a win, but we did.”
Sunday’s match was quite different and, fortunately for the Reds, much shorter. They took down the Sea-Hawks handily in straight sets.
“Yesterday, we came into the game and knew they were going to be scrappy and go for every ball, but seeing them play last night was a huge help today,” said Blanchard. “Today, I think we came in knowing what to expect and that helped us jump on them right away.”
Using the knowledge gained from Saturday’s match, the Reds handled any MUN attack efficiently and walked away a convincing 25-21 first set win.
Hay’s serving prowess took over the second set as the veteran served for eight UNB point, including two aces. Hay’s play, combined with the relentless force that is Rebecca Glancy (Toronto, ON), was enough to seal 25-20 second set win.
The Reds came out looking to finish the Sea-Hawks in the third set and wasted no time accomplishing it. With the exception of some poor defensive positioning and unforced errors that allowed MUN to stay with UNB, the ladies stuck to the game plan and Blanchard ended the match with one her patented kills for the 25-22 third set win.
Glancy took home the player of game nod for Sunday’s match with 11 kills, four block assists, and a perfect serving percentage.
“We were much cleaner today and executed much better,” commented Richard. “We really wanted to make a few adjustments and really get the ball to our middles and pass the ball better and I thought we did that really well.”
The Reds still managed to sweep the Sea-Hawks even without the leadership of Tanya Paulin (Bathurst, NB) on the court.
“Tanya is shut down until Christmas just based on challenges from her surgery in August,” explained Richard. “She missed our first five or six exhibition matches and then played at our tournament and played really well. When we went away for league play two weeks ago it just wasn’t there. Complications from the surgery keep resurfacing so we have to get that straightened out.”
Paulin’s absence led way for rookies Celina Abba (Fredericton, NB) and Taylor MacDonald to showcase their talents all weekend. Unabashed from being thrust into the spotlight, Abba scored two kills and six block assists over the weekend while MacDonald pitched in nine kills, 12 digs and two service aces.
“This is no real pressure I don’t think,” explained Abba. “We have a strong team and it is a great opportunity to play. We have great girls that are out there to support us since we’re rookies. It is good to have people on the court like Jill and Erica that keep us organized and pumped up. Erica is a great talker and Jill is a great leader on the court as well.”
The play of the younger Reds was not lost on the head coach or the veteran players.
“You look out there and most don’t realize four of our seven starters today were first and second year players,” said Richard. “We have some youth and inexperience out there, but they just need opportunity to grow. I thought Taylor played really well today and Celina has been great for us, in a difficult middle position, so far this year.”
“They’ve absolutely exceeded all expectations this year coming in,” noted Blanchard. “Celena having a starting middle position is just huge and Taylor coming up with huge digs down the line for us right when we needed it. They went above and beyond.”
The Reds will now embark on a six-game road trip that will bring them into the break beginning with matches against the Dalhousie Tigers on Nov. 12 and Saint Mary’s on Nov. 13. Hay understands the importance of success on the road and is confident the team can pick up some important wins.
“Coming in with a lot of emotion and battle. Our belief and battle level is really high. When you go into someone else’s gym, you’ve got to have that factor because they’ve got most of the advantage when they are on their home court. If we can keep our battle and fight level as high as it is, I think we can win wherever we play.”