Hatfield leads Tigers to win over Sea-Hawks

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Dalhousie secured a confident straight-set victory over Memorial on Friday evening at Dalplex, winning 25-18, 25-22, 25-22. Dalhousie's defense was highlighted by seven total blocks, contributing to a commanding performance.

Dalhousie opened the match against the Sea-Hawks with a close back-and-forth exchange, but the Sea-Hawks took an early 3-1 lead aided by attack errors from Dalhousie. Dalhousie responded with a strong mid-set performance, capitalizing on a series of Sea-Hawks' errors and a service ace from Paris Stewart to establish an 11-8 advantage, prompting a Sea-Hawks timeout. Dalhousie's Kasandra Trenke delivered consecutive service aces to push the lead to 22-16. Mel Hatfield and Ella Hornby consistently contributed to the score, with Hornby securing the set with a kill from Quinn McAleer, ending the set 25-18 in favor of Dalhousie.

Dalhousie secured a 25-22 win in the second set against the Sea-Hawks, highlighted by strong serving and effective blocking. Quinn McAleer opened the set with consecutive service aces, propelling Dalhousie to an early lead. The Sea-Hawks' Courtney Hodder responded with several key kills, keeping the set competitive. However, Dalhousie maintained their advantage with contributions from Mel Hatfield, who recorded multiple kills, including the final point set up by McAleer. Despite a late push by the Sea-Hawks, Dalhousie capitalized on the Sea-Hawks' service errors to clinch the set.

Dalhousie established a strong lead in the third set with a series of scoring plays, including a service ace by McAleer and kills by Paris Stewart and Hornby. An effective block by Hatfield and a kill by Brooke Graham extended Dalhousie's advantage to 12-3, prompting the Sea-Hawks to call a timeout. The Sea-Hawks then rallied to narrow the gap with a series of points, highlighted by kills from Naomie McWhinney and Lydia Grawer, bringing them within one point at 23-22. However, Dalhousie responded with a decisive kill from Hornby and an attack error by Grawer, securing a 25-22 set victory.

Hornby recorded 11 kills on 27 attempts and added two solo blocks, contributing a total of 13 points. Hatfield also finished with 11 kills, achieving a .133 hitting percentage, and registered one solo block alongside five digs. McAleer facilitated the team's offense by posting 26 assists and contributed defensively with six digs. Jaimie Pike made a perfect attacking effort with one kill on one attempt, maintaining a 1.000 hitting percentage.

The Tigers and Sea-Hawks return to the court on Saturday at 3:00 PM