RECAP BY: Siam Saroar, Dal Athletics
The Saint Mary's Huskies beat the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 (25-21, 25-18, 30-32, 25-23) against their inter-city rivals.
The first set was a back-and-forth battle, with both teams showing strong defensive play. Huskies were leading by 8-2 until Ella Hornby (Calgary, AB) made a stellar block. The Tigers managed to lower the gap, which made the Huskies call a timeout. On the restart, Grace Calnan (Dartmouth, NS) dropped the ball neatly onto the Huskies side of the floor. Ultimately it was not enough, and the Huskies came out on top, closing the first set 25-21.
Tigers tried to control the game early on in the second set. A big block from Megan Bruhm (Hubley, NS) got points on the board for the Huskies. Saint Mary's soon evened out and then took control of the set. The Huskies lead would grow to six, but the Tigers persevered after a very long rally as they put a pause to the lead. But the Huskies kept it rolling as they went to game point, winning the second set by 25-18.
The third set was a turning point for Dal Tigers. They came out with renewed energy, and their defence was solid. The first point of the third set would drop for the Tigers as Lucy Glen-Carter (Toronto, ON) was searching to get the Tigers back on track for a 3-0 run. Using her hand as a weapon, Ella Hornby(Calgary, AB) made it 5-1. Huskies fought back to close the lead to 3 points, but the Tigers went on to ramp up their advantage to 11-3, the biggest point difference in the game.
Huskies battling out, and a tough serve got them as close as 23-19. Soon after, Lucy Glen-Carter (Toronto, ON) rocketed the ball through the block to extend the Tigers lead. Saint Mary's did catch up tying the game at 24 a piece. The team exchanged points; unable to get the two point gap required to win the game. The Tigers held on to win the set 32-30 and keep the game alive.
The fourth set saw SMU Huskies get out to an early lead, but the Tigers held it close. They kept scoring one at a time trailing by one point (19-20), forcing the Huskies to a strategic timeout. The game ended with a closely contested 23-25 set, with the Huskies never losing the lead, giving them a 3-1 win.
Lucy Glen-Carter (Toronto, ON) had an outstanding performance with 26 kills, the highest in the court, and tying her personal regular season, single game record.
Alena Piatukhova (Minsk, BEL) from the Huskies captured the Subway Player of the Game honours with 10 kills and 18.0 points. Her teammate Emilia Mikanovich (Minsk, BEL) had the highest digs (18) in the game, thanks to her fantastic reaction time.
Upcoming Monday at 5:00pm, the Dalhousie Tigers will host Memorial's Sea-Hawks, while SMU will face Acadia on their home court on Friday, February 3rd.