Huskies defeat Sea-Hawks for their eighth straight win

HALIFAX, NS- The Saint Mary's Huskies won their eighth straight match, defeating the Memorial Sea-Hawks in four sets (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23) on Sunday afternoon at the Homburg Centre.

The first set saw both teams starting strong, with the Sea-Hawks claiming the first point with a kill by Nella Woelfel (St. John's NL). The Sea-Hawks would capitalize on attack errors made by the Huskies and a kill by Lydia Grawer (St. Louis, MO), propelling them forward. The Huskies, however, after a long rally that saw Emilia Mikanovich (Minsk, Belarus) hammer home a point, saw the Huskies gain momentum, pulling ahead to a 10-7 lead.

The Sea-Hawks continued to stay close to the Huskies with a kill from Woelfel and a block by Janeen Pellat (Yorkton, SK). However, the Huskies didn't waiver as kills by Mikanovich, and Megan Bruhm (Hubley, NS) saw them close in on winning the set leading 21-15. The Sea-Hawks would close out the match on several errors, seeing the Huskies win the set 25-17.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Huskies win the first set 25-17 over the Sea-Hawks! pic.twitter.com/3jynM8uPsM

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 12, 2023

The start of the second set saw the Huskies come out swinging, with a kill from Bruhm, a block from Alena Piatukhova (Minsk, Belarus), and a service ace from Madison Hann (Conqueral Mills, NS), seeing the huskies jump out to a 7-1 lead.

However, the Sea-Hawks fought their way back into the set with kills by Erica Rafuse (Kingston, ON), Claire Whiffen (St. John's, NL), and Woelfel closing in on the Huskies lead 11-7.

The Huskies offense would continue to stay steady with a kill by Olivia Bell (Lahave, NS) dig by Bruhm. A block by Hann saw them win the second set 25-19, with a valiant effort from the Sea-Hawks offense, with a service ace from Shianna Duda (Delburne, AB) pulling them within a few points of the Huskies.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Taylor Lougheed finishes off the second set with an ace and the Huskies take a 2-0 lead with the 25-19 set win! pic.twitter.com/ZH8kxmuqA1

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 12, 2023

The third set saw the Sea-Hawks jump out to an 8-3 lead, with kills and service ace from Grawer, and a kill by Emily Batt (Grande Prairie, AB), leading the Sea-Hawks offensive charge.

The Huskies Emilia Mikanovich would tie up the set for the Huskies 13-13 with her hard-to-handle serve. However, the Sea-Hawks would respond with kills from Grawer and service aces from Batt and Duda, forcing the Huskies to take a time-out as the Sea-Hawks led 17-13.

When play resumed, the Sea-Hawks offense remained ignited asa  kill from Woelfel and a block from Pellat saw the Sea-Hawks win the third set 25-22.

While the Sea-Hawks jumped out to an early fourth set lead, the Huskies dialed it in and, with a kill from Bell and service aces from Mikanovich, tied up the fourth set 5-5.

As the fourth set continued, it was a hard-fought battle that saw the Huskies pull out to a 14-10 lead from kills by Piatukhova and Taylor Lougheed (Uxbridge, ON).

While the Sea-Hawks continued to make their presence known, the Huskies offence found their rhythm led by Mikanovich closing in on the set win leading 21-19.

The Sea-Hawks forged ahead and led by Rafuse, Woelfell, and Kamryn Sanger (Grand Falls, NL), they tied the set up at 23-23. The Huskies offense stood firm and won the fourth set 25-23, winning the match.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Huskies finish off the Sea-Hawks in four sets (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23) for their eighth straight win! Emilia Mikanovich named Subway Player of the Game with 17 kills, 13 digs and four service aces. pic.twitter.com/041J672iWZ

— SMU Huskies (@SMUHuskies) February 12, 2023

Huskies Left Side Emilia Mikanovich was named Subway Player of the game with 17 kills, four service aces, and 13 digs.

It was a defensive team effort that saw Megan Bruhm leading the team with 20 digs, ten kills, and a service error, and Taylor Lougheed leading the team with 36 assists, two kills, and six digs.

Lydia Grawer led the Sea-Hawks with 15 kills, 11 digs, and one service ace, and Nella Woelfel had ten kills, 11 digs, and two assists. Erin Grabka, who played her last AUS game, had 16 digs and seven assists.

The Huskies eighth straight win improves their record to 14-4 on the season. The Huskies will be back on the court visiting the Acadia Axewomen this Friday, February 17, at 7 pm, before finishing the season on homecourt as they welcome the Dalhousie Tigers for the final game of the regular season. GET TICKETS

The Sea-Hawks loss drops their record to 0-20 on the season, with this game being their final game of the season.

Recap by Alyson Duffy / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics