Tigers sweep Axewomen in season opener

WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The defending AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers swept the host Acadia Axewomen 3-0 in the AUS regular season opener at Acadia.

Tigers' Subway Player of the Game, Julie Moore, posted a game high 13 kills and a 0.286 hitting percentage to lead Dalhousie to a three set win.

Tied at nine in the opening game, the Tigers pushed to a 17-13 lead on kills by Victoria Haworth, Moore and Mieke DuMont. The Axewomen were unable to close the 20-15 game and eventually loss 25-19.

Acadia came out slow in the second set, falling behind early by a 10-5 deficit. Opening the set with three kills in a row, Moore helped push the Tigers to a 18-10 lead and eventual 25-12 second game victory.

In a back-and-forth battle in the eventual third and final set, the Axewomen kept the game close, allowing the Tigers to only pull out no more than at two points in the opening minutes.

Tied at 14 on a Hannah Helm kill, the eventual back-breaker was a service ace by Moore that gave the Tigers a 18-16 lead.

The Tigers aggressively pushed the lead to on Acadia's ball handling and attack errors. A block by DuMont in the end, gave Dalhousie a 25-19 set win and 3-0 match victory.

DuMont posted 7 kills and 7 digs. Defensively, Moore and Catherine Callaghan had 11 digs each and Moore led with three service aces.

Sarah Ross and Lauryn Renzella each added 8 kills for the Axewomen, while Renzella added 10 digs. Willow Gedlaman, from her setter position, had 20 assists, while her counter-part Courtney Baker for the Tigers had 32.

"Each day we learn how we can be better, whether it is technical, tactical or system based. We didn't play our best volleyball today and in a team sport we must rely on a contribution from everyone, in order to be successful. We will look to compete consistently tomorrow," commented Acadia head coach Michelle Wood following the match.

The Axewomen travel to Saint Mary's tomorrow night to take on the Huskies at 7:00 p.m. The Tigers host the Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.