The Memorial Sea-Hawks (0-3) host the Moncton Aigles Bleus (0-4) this weekend at the MUN Fieldhouse, as they look to pick up their first wins of the season on November 8th, 9th and 10th.
Moncton comes into St. John's after losing their first 4 games to UNB and Acadia. The Aigles Bleus lost both games 3-0 against UNB, and followed that by dropping both games to the Acadia Axewomen 3-1. Memorial finished the weekend series 0-3 against the Saint Mary's Huskies, dropping the first two games 3-1 and the final game 3-0 against the tough Huskies squad.
Moncton is led offensively by Pascale Doiron with 28 total kills and Ivana Urquhart, who has 24 total kills through 4 games. Defensively, the Aigles Bleus are led by Urquhart, as she has 3 solo blocks and 4 block assists, for a total of 7 blocks. Memorial will have to limit both Doiron and Urquhart this weekend in order to have a better chance of success.
The Hawks are led by Alyssa Warford and Kaitlyn Kuchinka, who both have a total of 24 kills through 3 games and are averaging 2.18 kills per set. The defense is anchored by 3rd year middle blocker Catherin Smith, who has 5 solo blocks and 5 block assists, giving her 10 total blocks through 3 games.
Coach Slauenwhite commented on the upcoming weekend, saying "We felt that we played two very solid matches this past weekend (Friday & Saturday) on the road against SMU. It showed us that we can play and compete against one of the stronger teams in our league. Our consistency and attention to fine detail will be key in finding success against Moncton this coming weekend." The Hawks will look to build on their experiences from last weekend for their upcoming games against Moncton.
Both teams have struggled to start the season off, but these games are an opportunity for these teams to turn around their seasons. Moncton has 3 players with more than 20 kills on the season, so the Sea-Hawks will have to limit this balanced attack if they wish to see some wins in their home opening weekend. The Hawks will look for an electric and supportive crowd to help them this weekend. Some wins against Moncton would give the Hawks confidence going forward as they will face a lot of tough programs throughout the season.
Head to the MUN Fieldhouse to watch the home opening games this weekend at 7:00PM on Friday, November 8th and Saturday, November 9th, and 1:00PM on Sunday November 10th. You can also watch the games live on www.austv.ca, follow the live scores of the games on www.goseahawks.ca or follow the games on Twitter.
Written by: Darnell Downs