Volleyball X-Women 1-1 in NB

The X-Women volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over Moncton on Saturday and dropped a close 3-2 match to UNB Sunday as they now sit with a 4-7 record in a tight-locked AUS conference.

Saturday evening in Moncton, the X-Women established an early 2-0 lead in the match with set victories of 25-20 and 25-10 before falling 25-23 in the close third set to the Aigles Bleues. The blue and white closed out the match with a 25-15 fourth set win and were led by the duo of Catherine Thornton and Katherine Ryan on the attack.

Thornton recorded 16 kills and 19 points in the match, along with 3 aces and 5 digs. Ryan tallied 17 points on 15 kills, 1 ace and 7 digs.

Jessica Nichols had 8 points, 7 kills and 10 digs in the match, while Leah McInnis contributed on defense with 15 digs. Heather Isenor recorded 38 set assists and 11 digs.

Chantal Richards led the Aigles Bleues with 13 kills and 16 points. Jolaine Gallant had 21 digs.

On Sunday afternoon in Fredericton, the X-Women played a hard fought match against the UNB Varsity Reds, coming out on the short end of a five-set game. The Varsity Reds won the first two sets by scores of 27-25 and 25-18, then the X-Women came back with third and fourth set wins of identical 25-21 scores. UNB pulled off the 3-2 match win with a 15-8 fifth set victory.

Katherine Ryan again played a strong game for StFX, scoring 17.5 points on a match-high 17 kills, and also had 13 digs. Catherine Thornton recorded 13 points, 10 kills, 3 aces and 11 digs while Jessica Nichols contributed with 14 points, 10 kills, 3 aces and 8 digs.

Layla Calvi helped the X cause with 10 points, 6 kills and 3 aces and libero Leah McInnis posted a match-high of 29 digs in the game. Heather Isenor tallied in with 41 set assists and 12 digs for the blue and white.

Leading the Varsity Reds attack was Jill Blanchard with 18 points, 16 kills and 25 digs while Tanya Paulin had 18 points and 15 kills.

The X-Women (4-7) currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the AUS conference with UNB and Dalhousie as all teams stand with 8 points. Another three-way tie exists for first spot as Saint Mary’s, Cape Breton and Acadia all have 10 points a piece in the close conference.

The X-Women have a re-match against the same New Brunswick opponents on the upcoming weekend as they host Moncton (1-11) on Saturday night at 7:00 pm at the StFX Oland Centre, followed by a 2:00 pm against UNB (4-6) on Sunday afternoon.  

StFX Sports Information