V-Reds win the first of the three match final against the Tigers
In a match that went on till five sets, the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds managed to defeat the Dalhousie Tigers. The match that took place between the two teams on Friday was the first in a series of three Atlantic University Sport men's volleyball conference final. As the night reached its close, the score board showed the final set scores of 26-24, 21-25, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12 in favour of the V-Reds.
The second round of the finals that is scheduled to take place on Sunday is expected to be highly competitive. Up till now, the Tigers have a total of 24 AUS titles to their credit, which they won back to back. They will be eyeing the championship trophy to increase the number to 25. If the Tigers are successful in giving themselves a chance at another title win, the last of the three matches will be played on next Saturday at the Pit, where he first of the three was played.
In the first set of the match both the teams were neck to neck. None of the 1000 spectators were sure as to which side the tables would turn. V-Reds and the Tigers put up such a competitive display of volleyball that the starting set reached a tie 14 times. The match was still undecided at 24-24. However, with the help of Kyle Blanchard, the Reds won the first set by 26-24.
The Tigers opened the second set of the match with renewed vigour as they went on a 6-1 run. Eventually, they found themselves at a 15-10 lead. Once they got control of the set, the Tigers did not let go and went on to secure a win at 21-25. The third set unfolded much the same way as its predecessor. The Tigers were in control of the game most of the time. At one point, the Reds tried to gain dominance but their efforts were put to a halt by Max Burt who made a decisive kill, winning the set for the Tigers at 25-22.
Building on the momentum generated in the last two sets of the game, the Tigers started off the fourth on a similar tune. They had a lead of 14-10 when the V-Reds were able to rally themselves together in order to overcome the deficit and move on ahead at 22-19. The Reds went on to stretch the match to five sets by winning the fourth at 25-20.
Back into form, the Reds took the lead in the fifth set at 12-8 but the Tigers managed to tie the score at 12-12. The match that followed was intensely played by both the teams but the Reds had the last laugh as they sealed the deal by winning the final set by 15-12.
At the end of the match, the Reds coach Dan McMorran made the following comments about his team’s performance: "The guys thought, 'It has to happen, it's a Cinderella story.' There's no Cinderella story. You can show video, you can pump up the music, but it has to happen on the floor. We didn't bring the defensive intensity until the middle of the fourth set. We survived but nothing's won yet."
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