WOLFVILLE, N.S. – The Axewomen volleyball team pulled together three straight sets to top the visiting Memorial Sea-Hawks 3-0 and sweep of a two-match weekend against the Sea-Hawks.
Second-year outside hitter Olivia Haley (South Glengarry, Ont.) was named the AUS Subway Player of the Match for her contribution to the win. Haley posted three timely kills, a solo block, and 4 points in her limited time off the bench in two sets.
Asked what preparation was made for the two-match weekend against a young Sea-Hawk team, Haley emphasized the need to work on skills and strategies that will help down the road in their remaining matches and playoffs.
"I think it was really trying to implement everything we did in practice and using what we worked on moving forward in our next games," said Haley. "I think we did that. We had tough serving and we kept them out of system. We worked on our shots while we were out of system. These are all things we can use moving forward."
The opening set was the closest the Sea-Hawks came to winning a game. Down by 11-4 early in the set, Memorial fought back to close the margin to 12-8. Kills by Jenna Lake (Conception Bay South, Nfld.) and Erica Fisher (Stewiacke, N.S.) plus two service aces by Sydney Zakutney (Ottawa, Ont.), pushed the Acadia lead to 19-9.
Acadia closed out the opening set with a 25-17 win.
The Sea-Hawks struggled for the remaining two sets. Losing both 25-12, their young talent was exposed.
The Axewomen came out of the gates hard in both sets, pushing out to double-digit leads.
Shining moments included play by second-year right-side hitter Lydia Grawer (St. Louis, MO) who posted a game-high seven kills, two service aces, and 9.5 points.
Taylor Witty (Dartmouth, N.S.) led the Axewomen with five kills for 5 points, while teammate Sydney Zakutney posted 9 points.
The Axewomen improved to 11-3 and are tied with the Dalhousie Tigers, yet the Tigers have a game in hand with an 11-2 record.
Acadia hosts Saint Mary's this coming Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The Huskies trail the Axewomen by four points in the AUS standings with a 9-4 record and have a game in hand to the Axewomen.
The Sea-Hawks drop to 0-13 and will search for a win tomorrow night at Dalhousie or at home hosting Moncton next weekend.