Weekly Preview Jan. 28, 2010

Volleyball teams to play final home weekend

This weekend the Sea~Hawks are in action in wrestling, volleyball, and basketball. The wrestling team is off to Fredericton for the UNB Open. This weekend is the last chance for home fans to see the volleyball teams as they play host to UNB at the Field House. The basketball teams travel to Sydney to take on the Cape Breton Capers.

Wrestling

This weekend the Sea~Hawks wrestling team will travel to Fredericton for the UNB Open, the last tournament before the CIS trials in February. This tournament is one of the few in the season and spans throughout much of the east coast, with teams from Montreal, the Maritimes, and Newfoundland.

Competing for Memorial in their respective weight classes are:
Fourth year Matt Kippenhuck at 61kg
Second year Matt Hill at 65kg
First year Jeremy Spence at 68kg
First year Ronald Earle at 72kg
First year Robbie Zadra at 76kg
Second year Ryan Nichols at 90kg
Second year Jon Smith at 100kg

Coach Kerri Ann Evely likes their chances in a variety of classes, and believes in the promise shown by this young team. The competition begins Saturday at 9:00am as this precursor to CIS trials gets underway.

Women’s Volleyball

The Sea~Hawks will host the UNB Varsity Reds at the Field House this weekend for a two game series, the final home weekend of the season. The Varsity Reds currently sit 4th in the AUS with a record of 5-7, but have raised their level of play as of late, winning their last four of six matches.

UNB has found its niche with the return of 3rd year Tanya Paulin. This right side attack hitter has dominated opposing defenses in the second half of this season for the Reds, averaging 14.0 kills in the past four matches. The Reds will look to middle Barb Vriends for a defensive spark this weekend. Vriends is currently atop of the AUS in blocks per game at 1.4.

The Sea~Hawks are currently on a four match losing streak after being swept this past weekend by the Saint Mary’s. All-star Sasha Wilkins went down with a concussion early in Saturday’s game versus the Huskies after taking an elbow to the head and did not play on Sunday. Wilkins status for the weekend is questionable. On Sunday Erin Bursey played well for the Sea~Hawks despite the loss with 10 kills and 11 digs. Look for ‘Hawks setter Beth Forsey to elevate her level of play this weekend, having a 25 assist outing against the Huskies in a losing effort this past weekend.

Action begins Saturday night at 6 p.m., with the second game of the series at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Men’s Volleyball

After a tough weekend of Interlock play in Montreal, the Sea~Hawks look to get back into AUS play as they host the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in weekend competition. This weekend marks the final home weekend of the season.

The Reds fell to 6-6 after a 1-3 performance against Laval, Sherbrooke, Montreal, and McGill. They are led by AUS All-Star Tyler Veenhuis, the Reds sit in the middle of the three team conference. Former Sea~Hawk Andrew Costa has been playing solid for UNB this season and is currently second in assists per match and service aces.

Still looking for answers offensively, Memorial will need last year’s AUS Rookie of the year Scott Hickman, and rookie Nathan Tilley to lead the charge against UNB. Setter Brad Pitcher had a solid showing in Montreal, averaging 26.7 assists per match over the last four.

The Sea~Hawks will take the court at the Field House on Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s Sea~Hawks will be travelling to Cape Breton University this weekend for a back to back match up against the Capers. This could be the biggest weekend of the season for the Sea~Hawks, as they come in second in the AUS (9-3) to their undefeated counterparts. This weekend also marks the only time these two teams meet in regular season action, making the games even more important for overall standings as the wins are worth four points each.

Memorial split this past weekend series with the Dalhousie Tigers opening with a 73-69 loss where the Sea~Hawk’s interior defense struggled. The Sea~Hawks will look to shut down the inside forces of Karmen Brown and Kari Everett, a pair of forwards currently tied for seventh in the AUS in rebounding at 6.2 per game. The Capers also have the luxury of having the highest scorer in the conference in Kelsey Hodgson, coming into this weekend ranked first in points per game at 23.4.

Fortunately, the Sea~Hawks are no slouch on the offensive end, with a balanced attack of post and beyond the arc scoring. With outside shooters Robyn O’Rielly and Erin Mullaley spreading the floor, the Capers will be hard tested to keep their undefeated season in check. Point guard Brittany Dalton had no trouble finding players in the right spot versus Dalhousie, having 7 assists in both contests; look for her to continue this strong play heading into Cape Breton.

This weekend is shaping up to be one of the more exciting matchups of the season and will be a true test of where the Sea~Hawks stand in the AUS. Game times are 6 p.m. (AST) Saturday and 1 p.m. (Sunday).

Men’s Basketball

Memorial will be facing its toughest opponent of the season this weekend as they also travel to Sydney to take on Cape Breton University for a two game series. Not only do they face a team ranked fourth in the CIS, but this will be two four point games since this is the only regular season meeting between the two teams. Although the Sea~Hawks did not come out of last weekend against the Tigers with a win, they showed flashes of the grit and smart play that is necessary to win against top-tier teams.

Cape Breton is currently ranked first in the AUS at 10-1 and is coming off a weekend sweep of Saint Mary’s (ranked 10th in the CIS). Although the Huskies are the only team to hand CBU a loss this season, the Capers made quick work of Saint Mary’s in the 102-75 win. Cape Breton’s major threat to opposing teams is their offensive fire power, as they are currently atop the AUS in points per game at 94.0. The dynamic back court of James Dorsey and Tremaine Fraser make it difficult for teams to adjust defensively, both proving they can put it on the floor and find the open man (4.9 and 3.2 assists/game, respectively).

The Sea~Hawks have showed improvement during the season. Most recently, they were right with Dalhousie until the end of the fourth quarter on Sunday, January 24th. Third year standout Jason Shepherd put together an excellent string of games for the ‘Hawks against the Tigers, averaging 20 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5 assists in the two contests.

Ante Samodol also had a strong showing over the weekend, averaging 11.5 points and 3.5 blocks; displaying his ability at both ends of the floor.

If the Sea~Hawks can get a contribution from everyone then they will be in a position to compete against the Capers. Game times are 8 p.m. (AST) on Saturday and 3 p.m. (AST) Sunday.