(FREDERICTON, NB) The UNB REDS put forth a good effort in their home-opener, but were not able to topple the U SPORTS ninth-ranked Montreal Carabins in a 3-1 loss, in RSEQ men's volleyball action, Friday night.
"They're a pretty heavy, left-side dominant team, and we know that," said REDS head coach Dan McMorran. "We didn't do as good of a job blocking on that side, so we need to make some adjustments."
The Carabins won with scores of 26-24, 20-25, 25-20 and 25-21.
Guillaume Bisson (Royun-Noranda, QC) led Montreal with 12 kills, five aces and 17.5 total points, while Julien Boileau (Montreal, QC) added 15 kills, 10 digs and 15.5 points scored.
Rafael Hilario (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the REDS with a game-high 18 kills and 21.5 points.
Montreal came out with the early first set lead, 6-3, before UNB would battle back to take their first lead at 17-14.
The Carabins took five of the next seven points to tie it 19-19 and would go back and forth with the REDS for the remainder of the set before getting the edge, 26-24 for a 1-0 lead.
The second set was much tighter, with neither team gaining more than a two-point advantage through the first 40 points, deadlocking the two sides at 20-20 before the REDS fired off five straight to take the set 25-20, tying the match 1-1.
"Our guys had a good demeanor all the way through. Which was a massive positive for us tonight," said McMorran.
A similar trend would unfold in the third set, with the sides tying at 6-6, 11-11 and 13-13 before the Carabins would score four straight points to pull ahead 17-13.
UNB would keep pace from there, but could not make up the deficit, dropping the third set 25-20 to fall behind 2-1.
The tug-of-war continued with the teams tied 17-17 in the fourth set.
The Carabins would take five of the following seven points and wouldn't look back, taking the set 25-21 for the 3-1 win.
UNB drops to 0-3 with the loss, while Montreal improves to 4-2.
The teams meet again Saturday, at UNB's Currie Center, in a scheduled 3:00pm (Atlantic) start.
RECAP BY: Jonathon James/for UNB Athletics
PHOTOS BY: James West/for UNB Athletics