Huskies defeat Axewomen 3-1 in thrilling home-opener

HALIFAX, NS – The Saint Mary's Huskies defeated the Acadia Axewomen three sets to one (25-20, 15-25, 25-19, 26-24) in a thrilling home-opener on Saturday night at the Homburg Centre in Halifax.

In the opening set, it was the Axewomen who got off to an early 11-7 lead, but the Huskies bounced back thanks to some great service by setter Taylor Lougheed (Calgary, AB), including two aces, as the Huskies took a 15-12 lead.

The Axewomen were able to cut into that lead thanks to a pair of kills from Alexia Lemay-Evans (Azilda, ON), but Huskies fifth year left side Olivia Bell (Lahave Islands, NS) delivered a big kill – her seventh of the first set – to finish off the Axewomen and give the Huskies a 25-20 first set victory.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Olivia Bell finishes off the first set with her seventh kill, as the Huskies take the set 25-20. pic.twitter.com/4LJD1aUz9S

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 28, 2023

The second set saw the Huskies take control early, as they opened up a 15-6 lead, and another set-finishing kill by Bell gave them a 25-15 second set win.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Olivia Bell with another set ending kill for the Huskies! SMU takes the second set 25-15! pic.twitter.com/kpmuE0OlZV

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 28, 2023

Saint Mary's seemed determined to wrap it up in straight sets, and opened up a 9-5 early lead. But a scary moment occurred when Bell had an awkward fall into the scorers table, bringing a halt to the match as she was aided by the Huskies training staff. That seemed to affect the Huskies momentum, as Acadia would come back to win the set 25-19.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Emilia Mikanovich with a big kill but the Axewomen take the third set 25-19 and force a fourth set. pic.twitter.com/8YpCb3bbTg

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 28, 2023

Bell returned towards the end of the third set, and made a big impact in the fourth, recording four kills in the set, including one to put the Huskies ahead 24-21. The Axewomen were able to come back and tie the match at 24-24, but back-to-back kills from Huskies Alena Piatukhova (Minsk, Belarus) and Megan Bruhm (Hubley, NS) finished off the Axewomen and gave the Huskies the 3-1 win.

HUSKIES HIGHLIGHTS ��

Megan Bruhm finishes off the match with a kill and the Huskies take down the Axewomen 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-19, 24-26) to improve to 2-0 on the season! pic.twitter.com/81YiTg2FiV

— Saint Mary's Huskies (@SMUHuskies) October 29, 2023

The Huskies attack was led by Player of the Game Olivia Bell and Emilia Mikanovich (Minsk, Belarus) who each recorded 14 kills, while Megan Bruhm chipped in 11 kills and a game-high 13 digs. Huskies setter Taylor Lougheed led the match with 36 assists and three service aces, while Alena Piatukhova controlled play at the net with five blocks.

The Axewomen were led by 10 kills by Alexia Lemay-Evans, while middle Erica Fisher (Middle Stewiacke, NS) contributed nine kills and a team-high four blocks. Setter Charlotte Dean recorded 28 assists, while libero Rebecca Dorsey chipped in 12 digs. Middle Olivia Haley (South Glengarry, ON) came off the Axewomen bench to record four kills and two service aces, helping turn the third set in their favour and earning Player of the Game.

The win improves the Huskies record to 2-0 on the campaign. They'll be in action again next weekend, as they head to St. John's, NL to take on the Memorial Sea-Hawks on Friday and Saturday.

The Axewomen loss drops their record to 0-2 on the season. They'll be at home net weekend, hosting the Moncton Aigles Bleues for a pair of matches on Friday and Saturday.

Players of the Game:

SMU – #7 Olivia Bell
ACA – #9 Olivia Haley

Recap by Allan April / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics
Photos by Eduardo Ibarra / Saint Mary's Huskies Athletics