Tommies Finish Fourth at Tipoff Tournament

The St. Thomas University Tommies women's volleyball team had a successful weekend competing at the tipoff tournament in Halifax, finishing with a record of 3-3.

Tommies head coach Don McKay was pleased with the team's performance and their progression over the pre-season.

"We did well this weekend, but it's in our league matches when we need to be playing our best," he said.  "We're looking forward to having another good season so we can be one of the teams in the mix when we host the ACAA Championships in February."

The Tommies opened the pre-season tournament with a 2-0 loss to the MSVU Alumni Senior women's team. Set scores were 26-24 and 25-18.

The Green and Gold bounced back against UNBSJ, topping the Saint John squad 2-0 with set scores of 25-16 and 25-21. Veronique McGrath propelled the Tommies to victory in the first set of the match, scoring nine straight points off strong serving. The second set saw STU take an early lead and maintain it for the duration of the game.

In their third match, the Tommies edged the UPEI Panthers 2-0. The Green and Gold used a well-rounded attack with 12 different players seeing court time in the win.

The team continued its strong play and were rewarded with their third win of the day. The Tommies topped UKC 2-0 with set scores of 25-14 and 27-25.

Finishing day one of the tournament with a 3-1 record, the Tommies advanced to the semi-finals where they faced the HC Hurricanes. There were many strong hits and impressive defensive plays on both sides of the net, but in the end the Hurricanes prevailed 2-0.

In the third-place match, the Tommies dropped a 2-0 decision to the MSVU Mystics. Set scores were 25-22 and 25-23.

The Tommies open the regular season Saturday when they host the Mount Allison Mounties at the Lady Beaverbrook Gym. First serve is at 2:00 pm.