Axewomen battle back in a 3-2 win over visiting Huskies

The Acadia Axewomen volleyball team defeated the Saint Mary's Huskies 3–2 (20–25 24–26 25–20 25–22 15–12) in a thrilling five-set match on Saturday, Feb. 26 in Wolfville, NS.

The first set was all Saint Mary's with the Huskies taking advantage of some defensive miscommunication to take the set with a final score of 25–20. Rookie outside hitter Nada Hamdy (Cairo, Egypt) showed solid serving, creating problems for the Axewomen all afternoon long. Hamdy finished the game with a game-high 5 service aces to go along with her 12 kills and 19 total points.

A much closer second set needed extra points to take the set 26–24. Huskies' outside hitter Olivia Bell (LaHave, NS) was a deciding factor all night long with her 21 points and .105 hitting percentage that warranted her being named the AUS Subway Player of the Game for the visiting Huskies.

The Huskies once again jumped out to an early lead, but the Axewomen battled back from a 14-20 deficit and grabbed a 25–20 win. Senior outside hitter Emilie Albert posted an impressive three total blocks along with a hitting percentage of .385 and 10.5 points.

The fourth set began with a 12-point Paige Snell serving streak that eventually took the Axewomen to a 25–22 set victory. Senior outside hitter Taylor Collombin showed why she sits on top of the kills per set leaderboards in Canada again today, recording 22 kills on a .386 hitting percentage.

The match was tight throughout and it was only right that this one also went to five sets. The fifth set was a nail-bitingly close 15–12 win for the Axewomen, who used the win to propel themselves into the number one spot in the AUS standings.

Setter Sydney Zakutney won the Subway Player of the Game award for the Acadia Axewomen, an award she earned with her 14 points, 17 assists, and 13 digs.

After the game, the Axewomen held a small ceremony recognizing the hard work of all the graduating athletes and staff, including Emilie Albert and Taylor Collombin.

The Huskies will be back on homecourt tomorrow, as they take on the Dalhousie Tigers at 2:00 p.m. at the Homburg Centre. Sunday's game will also be Senior's Day, as five Huskies seniors - Mariama Syll, Bethany Smith, Jakobie Friesen, Renee Cleveland and Anica Jestratijevic - will be celebrated before their final home regular season game.

The Axewomen will take on the Huskies again on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Stu Aberdeen Court in Wolfville.

Provided by Severin Golla, Acadia Athletics Communications