The St. Thomas University men’s volleyball team started off hot in their home opener against the Université Sainte-Anne Dragons, sweeping them off the court and handing the Dragons their first loss of the season. The Tommies won in straight sets of 25-13, 25-18 and 25-23, gaining their first win of the season.
Tommies’ head coach Henri Mallet said he was impressed with his team’s ability to bounce back from their last game, a 3-2 loss to the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves.
“I thought we started strong and played a really clean first set,” Mallet said.
“I think overall it was a good team effort … Everyone was involved.”
The Tommies finished the game off after third-year outside star Christian Christie was able to rise up and spike the ball over the net, as the Dragons were on the verge of taking their first set of the match and gaining momentum. Christie finished the match with eight kills.
“[The Dragons] play tough,” Mallet said of his opponent after the match.
“It doesn’t matter if they’re down 2-0. They just keep playing and keep coming at you … With [Anthony] Jacques on the floor, who is one of the better players in the league, you can’t take your foot off the gas.”
Jaqcues finished with a game high 14 kills for the Dragons.
Rookie Dallas Melnick was the Tommies’ leader in kills, rallying up 11, while last year’s ACAA rookie of the year Henry Doucet was the leader of assists for the Tommies, putting up an impressive 27.
Mallet was impressed with Doucet’s performance, saying it was much better than his season opener against the Seawolves.
“[Doucet] was on today,” Mallet said.
“He wanted a redo after the first match against [UNBSJ] and I thought he played much better. He was setting the sets we were looking for.”
The Tommies would defeat the Dragons in straight sets again on Sunday, Nov. 17. The set scores were 25-10, 25-13 and 25-16. Christie led the team in kills with eight.
