It was a great weekend for Tigers volleyball as the men kicked things off by winning the AUS championship on Saturday at UNB, while the women captured the title at home in front of a packed Dalplex crowd.
Women鈥檚 Volleyball
The Tigers successfully defended their AUS title as they defeated the Saint Mary鈥檚 Huskies 3-0 in the final on Sunday afternoon at the Dalplex. The crowd erupted as tournament MVP Desiree Nouwen rose up for the block to finish off the Huskies in three sets, and Nouwen was named to the all-star team along with Tara Gowan.
On Saturday, the Tigers faced the University of Moncton Aigles Bleues in the semi final, and looked calm, cool and collected as they cruised to a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-13, 25-19) Nouwen paced the Tigers with 16 kills and 20.5 points, while Tara Gowan chipped in 11 kills and 13.5 points.
The Tigers become the first team since 2007 to win back-to-back AUS championships in women鈥檚 volleyball, and will look to contend at the CIS championship on February 28 at the University of Regina.
Men鈥檚 Volleyball
The Tigers staged a huge comeback on Saturday to take the AUS championship in Fredericton on Saturday. After dropping the first two sets, the Tigers stormed back to take the last three, winning 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20, 19-17). The Tigers won the best-of-three series 2-0. Alex Dempsey earned player of the game honours after posting a team-high 15 kills. Bryan Duquette, who was named the championship MVP, led the team with 16 digs, and Connor Maessen came up huge with 11 blocks.
The Tigers will head to the CIS championship on February 28 at the University of Calgary, looking to make a name for themselves after missing out on the tournament last year.
Women鈥檚 Basketball
The Tigers lost a heartbreaker on Friday night, losing 88-86 in double overtime to Cape Breton. Courtney Thompson had a huge game with 34 points and seven assists, while Tessa Stammberger added 21 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
They headed to Antigonish on Saturday to face the StFX X-Women, in search of a much needed win. They jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the first quarter, but StFX鈥檚 defense held them to 26.9% shooting on the night as they went on to lose 67-46听 dropping to 8-10 on the season, though they鈥檝e clinched a playoff spot. Thompson again led the Tigers with 12 points, while Rebecca Nuttall added ten.
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Men鈥檚 Basketball
The Tigers put a pounding on the Cape Breton Capers in Sydney on Friday night, winning 91-63. Jarred Reid was hot from the field, shooting 10-16 and dropping 26 points on the night. Ritchie Kanza Mata had a monster game, posting a triple-double with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Tigers shot a season-high 47.1% in the game and had a solid rebounding advantage, out-boarding the Capers 49-33.
They look to continue on their roll as they tipped off against the StFX X-Men on Saturday, looking to sneak into the sixth seed in the AUS playoffs. Reid still had his hot shooting streak, dropping 22 points but the Tigers couldn鈥檛 rally at the end of the game, and the X-Men used a monster third quarter to come away with the 77-72 victory.
Women鈥檚 Hockey
The Tigers couldn鈥檛 finish their season on a high note as they fell to the CIS #7 ranked StFX X-Women on Saturday, finishing their season with a 5-16-3 record. Sarah Robichaud added a power-play tally in the second period, but it wasn鈥檛 enough as StFX poured on 37 shots and came away with the 5-1 victory.
The Tigers finish the season in seventh place in the AUS, and will look to improve next year with their young, emerging squad.
Men鈥檚 Hockey
The Tigers had a tough weekend at home as they dropped two games at home to the UNB Varsity Reds and the University of Moncton Aigles Bleus. They couldn鈥檛 contain the powerful Varsity Reds as they fell 7-0. They struggled on the powerplay, going 0-5 despite having many chances. Wendell Vye made 29 saves in the loss.
They got down early on Saturday as Moncton got four first period goals, and the Tigers faced an uphill challenge for the rest of the game as they tried to claw back. Francois Gauthier had a two-goal game and Alex Cote added an early third period goal, but it wasn鈥檛 enough as they fell 7-3. Bobby Nadeau made 43 saves in the loss.