(ST. JOHN'S, N.L.) - The Memorial Sea-Hawks defeated the Acadia Axewomen in a tight match-up pushed to five sets in AUS volleyball action on Sunday afternoon at the Field House. The result was a sweep for the home team who increased their winning streak to four games.
Memorial finished the first set up 27-25 over the visitors, though it wasn't easy.
Acadia led by as much as five points, but the Sea-Hawks managed to close the gap and brought it to a tie at 25 points.
Memorial sealed the deal when fifth-year Sea-Hawk Kirsten Sorensen (Red Deer, Alta.) set up a kill for Lauren Miller (Oromocto, N.B), and left side Jill Snow (Bishop's Falls, N.L.) provided a service ace.
In the second, Acadia opened the set strong and led by as many as seven points over the home team.
Memorial managed to claw back to tie the set at 25 but a ball handling error by the Sea-Hawks and a service ace by Jazmin Prest (Wolfville, N.S.) took the set 28-26 for the Axewomen.
The third set saw Acadia on the scoreboard first, but the Sea-Hawks turned it around and made quick work of the visitors with a 25-15 win.
In the fourth, the tables turned and Memorial was unable to catch Acadia who were determined to push the match to five sets and finished the fourth up 25-12.
In the final set, the Sea-Hawks took no chances, getting on the board early with a 4-0 run. The Axewomen rebounded to within two points but after contributing seven points of their own, ran out of gas and Memorial proved to be too much, taking the last up by eight.
Miller and Snow had a team-high 14 kills each for the Sea-Hawks and Snow contributed 23 digs to her tally. In her last home game for Memorial, setter Kirsten Sorensen produced 35 assists and 14 digs before she was honoured as a graduating senior in a presentation following the game.
Prest once again led her team in kills, contributing a team-high 15 in the loss. Also in double digits for Acadia was Sarah Ross (Toronto, Ont.) with 11 and Carlotta Frasca (Rome, Italy) with 10.
With the win, Memorial improves to 6-10 on the season, solidifying its fourth-place position heading into the conference championship. Acadia falls to 3-13 with the loss, taking the sixth and last playoff position.
Both teams play next on Feb. 13 in the quarterfinal round of the Subway AUS Championship hosted by UNB. Memorial will play fifth-seeded Moncton, while Acadia will meet the Varsity Reds who finished third.
Source: Memorial Sports Communications