The Memorial Sea-Hawks women's volleyball team will host the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus this weekend for a three-game series beginning Friday evening at The Field House.
The weekend series will be the Sea-Hawks first regular season matches of the season and Head Coach John Slauenwhite is excited to start the new season on home court.
"Our team has been working extremely hard over the last two months in preparation for the season and more importantly opening weekend at home. We have one of the best fan bases in the country and always enjoy playing in front of our fans. The past few years we have found success in the Field House where we have a very good record. Moncton is always a tough competitor who will push us to be our best early in the season, which we are prepared to be."
Memorial once again are projected to be one of the top teams in the AUS this season, despite losing some key players from last season. Jill Snow and Kassie Menzies both have graduated, but despite those losses, the Hawks have a strong lineup, which is led by Sarah Dawe and Kier Fey. Both are regarded as two of the top outside attackers in the AUS.
Alison Poynter is also expected to carry a lot of responsibilities for the Sea-Hawks this season. Poynter takes over as the starting setter and has one of the best service games in the country.
The Sea-Hawks enjoyed a strong preseason circuit, which saw them finish in 4th place, out of 10 teams, in the Gee Gees Classic, hosted in Ottawa. They also went 1-1 during an exhibition weekend hosted at Dalhousie. Memorial dropped their match versus the defending AUS champion Dalhousie Tigers, but responded nicely by defeated the Acadia Axewomen.
The Sea-Hawks and Aigles Bleus play their first game on Friday night at 7:00pm followed by a rematch on Saturday at 7:00pm. The series concludes on Sunday with a 1:00pm matchup. All games will be played at The Field House and tickets are available at the ticket office. Games will also be webcast live on www.AUStv.ca.