WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Axewomen volleyball team turned around an opening set loss to a 3-2 win over Moncton Aigles Bleues to open the new year.
The Axewomen trailed 2-1 in the opening three sets but rallied in the fourth with a convincing 25-10 win and sealed the deal with a 15-10 win in the fifth and final game.
Acadia pushed out to a 10-5 first set lead but consistent service errors allowed the Aigles Bleus to fight back to within one at 15-16 and eventually tying the set at 18 on a Cassidy Martin service ace. Martin would post four more consecutive aces to give the Aigles Bleues a 22-18 lead and eventual 25-22 win.
The Axewomen would bounce back in the second game by pulling out to a 20-10 lead on a 7-0 run that included two kills by Lucy Glen-Carter, in addition to kills by Peyton DeWolfe, Jamie Crocket, and Bianca Ruiz.
Acadia would complete the second set with a 25-21 bounce-back win to tie the match at one.
A tighter third set showed not leads more than three points in the late running. With Moncton, ahead 22-19, Peyton DeWolfe landed a service ace to close an Aigles Bleues lead to 22-20. An Acadia service error followed by a bad set and service ace by Martin again closed the third set at 25-20 for Moncton.
The Axewomen played tough throughout the match but the fourth set was the defining moment. A 'never give up' attitude filled the air of Stu Aberdeen court in the fourth set with Acadia quickly pulling out to a 19-6 lead on the back of an aggressive offense that posted four service aces and nine kills. Acadia eventually handed Moncton a convincing 25-10 loss.
The final fifth set would be highlighted by an exchange of kills by both teams that was ended by a Glen-Carter kill that led to a 15-10 fifth set win.
Glen-Carter, who was named the Subway Player of the Match, recorded a match-high 26 kills with a 0.479 kill percentage.
"Moncton is a really scrappy team and they like to get a lot of things off the floor, so we were thinking this week about battling and competing by making those long rallies count and finishing at the end," said Glen-Carter at the end of the match.
First-year setting Sydney Zakutney was stellar with 45 of 57 sets along with eight digs. Becky Dorsey led the Axewomen with 19 digs.
Libero Telia Gaudet was named Moncton's Player of the Game with 14 digs. Christelle Bertin led the Aigles Bleues with nine kills.
The Axewomen improve to 6-4, while Moncton drops to 4-7. The Aigles Bleues host Saint Mary's tomorrow at 4:00 pm and Acadia will not hit the court again until next Saturday evening when they host Saint Mary's at 7:00 pm.