Saint Mary's wins three straight over Moncton

(HALIFAX, NS) – Senior Anna Watt (Calgary, AB) tallied 11 kills and five digs, hitting at a .375 clip on Saturday afternoon as the SMU volleyball team defeated Moncton in straight sets.

How It Happened

The Huskies and Moncton began the first set exchanging points, as SMU led 6-5 early on. Saint Mary's opened the set afterwards, leading 10-6 and 15-10 midway thru. After a few even rallies, SMU led 17-14. The Huskies jumped ahead 21-14 and SMU would finish the set 25-15 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set started much like the first, with the teams tied early 5-5. Four quick points put the Huskies up 9-5 before they jumped ahead 15-14 at the midway mark of the set. Moncton trailed 19-17 before a 4-1 run put SMU ahead 23-18. Following the break, Saint Mary's went on to win the second set by a score of 25-21, taking a 2-0 lead in the match.

Moncton jumped ahead 6-3 early in the third and final set and would push its lead to 9-5. The Huskies continued to battle back after the break, trimming Moncton's lead to one, 9-8 and tied the match 10-10. Moncton used a 6-1 run to push ahead 16-11. SMU used a 4-1 run themselves and trailed 17-15 before a 2-1 spurt saw the Huskies trail by one, 18-17. Moncton forged ahead with a 3-0 run and led by four, 21-18. The Huskies would not be denied the sweep, as they rattled off eight straight points to take the third set 25-21, and the match 3-0.

Finding A Rhythm

Joanie Arsenault Tracadie-Sheila, NB) paced all hitters with 12 kills, hitting .370 in the loss for Moncton, who drop to 4-14 (8 points) in Atlantic University Sport action. Abigail Palister finished with seven kills while hitting .417 and Emily Robichaud had a team-high 11 digs. Cassidy Martin had a team-high 22 assists and seven digs.

Junior Bethany Smith (Moncton, NB) tallied seven kills of her own and added three digs for her Huskies, meanwhile sophomores Olivia Bell (La Have, NS) had six kills and eight digs and Renee Cleveland (Saint-Martin, NS) had a team-high 15 digs while fifth year Emilia Conlon (Dartmouth, NS) led the team with added 25 assists and three kills.

Up Next

Moncton hits the road next week with their final two matches on Feb 10 versus Acadia and Feb 14 versus UNB.

The Huskies host Acadia in their final game of the season on February 14 at 7 pm. Friday's game will be senior day for the Huskies.

Dominic Nolasco, SMU

Photo Nick Pearce