The unexpected offseason departure of two key players has contributed to a slow start for the UNB Varsity Reds women's volleyball team.
Fourth year middle player Tanya Paulin over the summer decided to pursue a pro career in France instead of playing out her final year with the V-Reds, while Taylor MacDonald chose to pursue pharmacy studies elsewhere after just her first season with the team, leaving the defending Atlantic University Sport champions scrambling to fill their starting line.
"It has been a little challenging," said head coach John Richard, now in his 14th season with the team. "We knew we would be a little young, but we didn't know we'd be as thin as we are."
"(Losing Tanya) was a big hit, and the other athlete, Taylor MacDonald, she was probably pegged to get some significant minutes this season," he said. "We don't have a bunch that will go out and score 15 and 20 points a game like we have in the last few years. We need more balance. It has to be done by committee. But the fortunate part for us is that we're going to be hard to scout against, because it will be a quality effort from five or six girls every night, not just one or two."
The Reds are out to an 0-3 start and sit in last place in the eight-team AUS women's volleyball conference.
They will face the Dalhousie University Tigers Friday at 6 p.m. at the Richard J. Currie Centre, looking to avenge a 3-0 defeat sustained at Dal two weeks ago.
Leading the rebounding Reds is co-captain Rebecca Glancy, a third-year middle player who's among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (7th), kills (6th) and blocks (2nd).
Richard said Glancy's success is no surprise, as the Toronto native has been delivering since her first season with UNB.
"She came in here with quite a pedigree," said Richard. "Her club team, Durham Attack, won six national championships in a row and every member of that starting lineup went NCAA Division 1 except her. She was the captain in her second year, and that speaks to her experience and leadership. She's one of the better players in the league for sure."
Co-captain and fourth-year libero Monica Jones will also be leaned on to produce for UNB, as will Amanda Bakker and Emma Hunt - all of whom were on the court for the team's AUS championship match last year.
"We have four of seven back from last year, so it's not like we lost everyone," Richard said.
Two rookies, Vanja Mitrovic of Fredericton and Katarina Legutky of Calgary, are also expected to get ample starting floor time this year.
Richard expects his squad's early woes to work themselves out. With a young team, there's always a learning curve. He just hopes it doesn't take too long.
"It's going to take our group a while to figure things out, but we don't have too long. We can't dig ourselves too big of a hole," he said.
The UNB men's team host the Dalhousie Tigers at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at the Currie centre.