Reds, Huskies to bump heads
By Gordie Sutherland, The Chronicle-Herald
\r\nFeb 24, 2008 - In Antigonish, the No. 1 UNB Varsity Reds and No. 3 Saint Mary’s Huskies will meet in today’s 2 p.m. final.
\r\nUNB beat the No. 5 Cape Breton Capers 3-1 (26-24, 28-30, 25-14, 25-20) in the first semifinal while two-time defending champion SMU defeated the No. 2 Moncton Aigles Bleues 3-1 (25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-14) in the other.
\r\n"I expect it will be heavy-hitting, lots of offence, lots of power, lots of energy," SMU coach Mark Burley said of the final. "UNB is a very big, very heavy hitting team and we played them as recently as last weekend in league play and they’ve been really ramping up for playoffs."
\r\nKerri Smit and Kristen McCulloch combined to do most of the damage for SMU, amassing 24 and 20 kills, respectively. Katelyn Cross had 50 assists.
\r\nIn UNB’s win, Heidi Mouris led the way with 19 kills and Erica Hay had 14.
\r\nCape Breton’s Hilary Cummings had 13 kills and 17 digs. Teammate Brianne Walsh had 10 kills.
\r\nCape Breton coach Claude Lapre said he was pleased with his team’s progress throughout the season.
\r\n"The girls came here and really showed they were competitive, winning a tough match yesterday in four sets against a very good Memorial team, and then battling really hard against the first seed UNB.
\r\n