Schmuland leads Tigers to 3-2 win over UNB

(Halifax, NS) – In the second game of the back to back matchup, the Dalhousie Tigers hosted the UNB Reds once again at the Dalplex on Saturday.   

After trading points early, the Tigers were able to open up a 10-5 lead with some great serves from Kobe Shannon (Halifax, NS) after he picked up a few kills to open the match.  

The middle blocking was strong to start for the Tigers with Matthew Woods (Halifax, NS) and Graham Schmuland (Calgary, AB) getting in on multiple blocks as they stretched their lead to 14-9.   

The Reds were still able to get a few kills in between the blocks from Eduardo Luchese (Bento Goncalves, Brazil), but much of the Reds offense was coming from Tigers errors, as they trailed 16-10 at the break.   

Luchese picked up a few more kills out of the break, but the Tigers were able to close out the set quickly, with kills from Jeffrey Walton (Sudbury, ON) and the long reach of Woods sending home the final kill for the Tigers to make it 25-16.   

It was a tight start in the first half of the second set, with the service game making the difference for both sides, forcing errors and free-balls as the teams traded points all the way up to the technical break with the Tigers leading 16-15.  

The Tigers were the first team to open a lead in the second set, coming out of the break with Schmuland sending home two kills, plus a block to make it 20-16. 

Some late errors were costly for the Reds as Kobe Shannon hammered another kill home through the blockers and the Tigers took the second set 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead.   

The third set got off to a rough start on both sides, with errors, especially service errors, piled up on both sides in the first half of the set, but the score remained tight. 

The Tigers were still getting blocking contributions from Woods and Walton on back to back points, while Walton picked up a few more kills, but Luchese and Connor McConnell (Hanwell, NB) pushed the Reds to a 16-14 lead at the break.  

The Reds opened up a four point lead late in the set, up 22-18 with McConnell and Brad Stewart (Wolfville, NS) led the way, and the Reds would eventually finish the set off after a Tigers error at 25-21 to force a fourth set.   

Once again the Tigers were off to another rough start in the fourth set, following up many kills with errors, but the score remained close throughout.   

McConnell and Luchese collected kills for the Reds, while Walton and Shannon were contributing the offense to the Tigers, taking a slight 16-15 advantage into the technical timeout.   

The Tigers committed three errors in the row late in the set to find themselves down 23-20, and after the Tigers gave up their 23rd service error of the match, the Reds were able to force a fifth and final set, winning the fourth set 25-23.   

Getting off to a fantastic start in the final set, the Tigers jumped ahead 6-1 with some great serving and hitting from Schmuland and Walton, both with an ace and a kill each in the run. 

The Reds were able to stay alive in the set with Luchese and Stewart picking up kills as the Tigers struggled to close out the match, but Walton was finally able to find the back line, and finish the match off with a 15-11 win in the fifth set.  

Eduardo Luchese led the Reds in the match with 14 kills and 3 blocks, while Schmuland finished with a game-high 16 kills and 3 blocks as well. Shannon and Walton were close behind with 15 kills each.  

The Tigers will hit the road next weekend when they take on Sherbrooke for back to back matches, while the Reds will host Laval next weekend for a double feature as well.