Donovan leads Tigers to 3-1 win over UNB
Michael Donovan had 20 kills in the Tigers 3-1 win over the visiting UNB Reds Saturday afternoon in Halifax.
By Daniel Simpkin
The Dalhousie Tigers defeated the UNB Reds 3-1 at home in the Dalplex in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Tigers came out to face the UNB Reds for the second time in the weekend after dropping the first game 3-1 the day before.
Dalhousie's Malachy Shannon (Halifax, NS) opened the game with the first service.
Behind a strong performance from Eduardo Luchese (Rio Grande du Sol, Brazil) the UNB Reds lead 16-14 at the technical timeout of the first set.
A big block from UNB's Austin Regier (Warman, SK) ignited an offensive push lead by Brad Stewart (Wolfville, NS) who would close out the first set 25-20 for the Reds.
Notable Dalhousie performances in the first set included Michael Donovan (London, ON) and Shannon.
UNB Bradley Merryweather (New Maryland, NB) opened the second set with his team in the lead. The Reds kept in top form behind Jacob Harris (Clarenville, NL).
Dalhousie's Justin Cross (Winnipeg, MB) stepped up for some crucial points, while front men Shannon and Ethan Boyd (Summerside, PE) backed it up with big blocks to keep the set close at the technical timeout - 16-14 Reds.
Donovan would again show up big for Dalhousie on the scoring front giving his team momentum that led to a big block from Tigers Justin Cross. Soon after, Sartaj Sidhu (Calgary, AB) would line up to serve for the set that was sent out of bounds by the Reds. Dalhousie closed out the set 27-25 to even the match at one set apiece.
Cross served to open the third set. Stewart and Luchese brought UNB out to a quick 6-3 lead in the third set off of powerful spikes at the net.
Never giving up on the play, Dalhousie libero Arcel Siosan (Whitehorse, YT) dove to make a heroic save off the ground and brought the score to 5-7 after the referees overturned the out of bounds call.
At the technical timeout of the third set, the Tigers led 16-15.
Coming out of the technical timeout, the game evened up after a long rally that tied the game at 17-17.
In a tight back and forth, Shannon came up big for the Tigers with a huge block to once again even the score, this time at 23-23.
Soon after, a fault from Reds Erik Kodric (Ljubljana, Slovenia) would end the third set in favour of the Tigers with a final score of 25-23. The match now at 2-1 Dalhousie.
Early on into the fourth set, Cross assisted in creating a substantial 8-3 lead for Dalhousie, giving the home crowd lots to cheer for.
Jeffrey Walton (Sudbury, ON) checked in for the Tigers and scored a quick three points for Dalhousie, extending their lead to 13-6.
At the technical timeout of the fourth set the Tigers led 16-7.
A steady stream of scoring from the Tigers including a commanding win of a joust at the net from Walton, and then an ace from Cross would ensure that Dalhousie did not relinquish their lead, closing out the set 25-13 and the match 3-1.
Donovan had a match-high 20 kills for the Tigers with Boyd and Cross chipping in 13 and 11, respectively.
Luchese was the top player for UNB with 17 kills and seven digs.
Justin Cross was awarded player of the game honours.
Up next, the UNB Reds face the Université de Montreal Carabins on Friday October 22nd. The following week the Tigers hit the road to face Carabins on Friday October 29th.