Dalhousie bests UNB 3-1 in first of weekend's matchups

Far too many errors, both offensively and defensively, led to the Dalhousie Tigers victory over the Varsity Reds, according to head coach Dan McMorran.

"We were really shooting ourselves in the foot before we got going," he said.

"We were behind in each set - there was never one we came on and played a complete set - and we played with a lack of confidence from the get-go," said McMorran.

He said they need to be a team that is entirely more consistent. Although they recevied well throughout the game, the match was marred by inconsistencies in their attack.

From the very beginning the men started off rocky, losing points off hits – most of which came from Tiger Matt Donovan. Mathieu Losier and Brett LeDrew came up with a huge block and what looked like a chance to redeem themselves in the first, but the V-Reds would not be able to take away many more points and fell 12-25.

The second set showed more of last-season's Reds, keeping the score within four points for the majority of the set. A huge kill by Marc White cut the score to 19-20, and the V-Reds trailed by just one point. Losier and Craig Toonders came in with the big blocks needed, mixed with a few serves by White, a huge kill by Markiel Simpson and a couple of strong rallies, and UNB was back in the game with a 26-24 win.

"We've been working on a lot of things with Mathieu (Losier), and I thought he stepped up big time in tonight's game," said McMorran.  

"It was good for Mathieu to come out here and have a performance like that."

The men took the lead in the third with a huge hit down the centre. But the V-Reds couldn't seem to keep the ball in-bounds off their own hits, and would lose the lead early on. It was back-and-forth for the entire set, keeping it close until the very end with a tie at 24, but the Tigers would pull away and finally end the set 27-25 for Dalhousie.

In the fourth set, the Reds would not be able to keep their momentum going and fell 20-25 to the Tigers.

"It was obviously a close match-up, but we've got to be able to maintain a lot more consistency to get the result we want," McMorran concluded.

The Varsity Reds and the Tigers play again on Sunday, November 2, at 1pm. 

Bronte James for UNB Sports Information