Tommies Focus on Solid Defense, Efficient Offense Heading into Weekend Tilt with Seawolves

Tommies Focus on Solid Defense, Efficient Offense Heading into Weekend Tilt with Seawolves

By: Sean Crocker, BA'18
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The St. Thomas University Tommies and the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves will face off in Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association volleyball action Saturday at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym.

The theme of the matches for both Tommies teams will be solid defense and efficient offense.

The Tommies men's team narrowly defeated the Seawolves when they clashed in Saint John last weekend, winning by a slim margin of 3-2.

Tommies head coach Francis Duguay emphasized the need for his team to contain the middle of the court and play well defensively.

"Containing their middles will have a huge part in our success this weekend," Duguay said. "They have big middles and know how to use them. We'll have to dig deep defensively again and make the most out of our opportunities on offence."

Duguay expects strong performances from his core of returning players, and will also rely on minutes from some new additions.

"I would expect a big game out of Steph Blinn, who has been our main finisher so far this year. I also expect good things from players like Francis Sirois and Nathan Brown," he said.

On the women's side, Tommies head coach Don McKay plans to bring a similar defensive mindset to their match.

"We have been working on serving and passing to prepare and will continue to work on blocking," he said. "UNBSJ have a couple of very good hitters that we will need to slow down at the net. They like to move their hitters around."

This will be the first match between the women's teams this season. After a 1-3 start, the Tommies will look to bounce back with a well-coordinated offense.

"Defensively they run a couple of variations, so we will stay strong with our offence and note their adjustments," McKay said. "We'll need to pass well in order to run our offence and be successful. If we serve well to get them out of their system, we'll have a chance to win."

The Tommies host the Seawolves on Saturday, November 19 at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. First serve for the women is at 2:00 pm, while the men take the court at 4:00 pm.