The Memorial Sea-Hawks will be featuring a few all-stars as they take to the court at the Field House in St. John’s today for semifinal play in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) women’s volleyball championship tournament.
So will their opponents.
The conference’ s 2017-18 all-stars and award winners were announced Thursday evening. Among those honoured were three players from Memorial: Kiersten Fey, a first-team all-star selection; Sarah Dawe, chosen to the second team; and Clarenville’s Emma Hackett, named to the all-rookie squad.
Fey, who is from Selkirk, Man., has been an AUS all-star all three of years at Memorial; she was a second-team choice in 2016 and 2017. It’s a first-ever selection for Dawe, a third-year player from Mount Pearl.
Fey, Dawe, Hackett and their Sea-Hawks teammates have a tough task in their semifinal game, set for 7 p.m. at the Field House. Memorial (8-12) is up against the top-seeded Dalhousie Tigers, the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
The Sea-Hawks and Tigers tangled four times in the regular season, with Dal coming away with a sweep of all four matches and a 12-3 advantage in games.
That contributed to the Tigers’ 19-1 conference record, fashioned with a lineup that includes setter Courtney Baker, just named the AUS most valuable player, and outside hitter Julie Moore, the selection as the conference rookie of the year.
Both were named first-team all-stars, as was fellow Tiger Victoria Haworth.
Dal’s Mieke DuMont was named to the second all-star team, while the Tigers’ Catherine Callaghan joins Moore, Hackett and Acadia’s Lucy Glen-Carter on the all-rookie team.
Acadia’s Michelle Wood was named AUS coach of the year, while Hannah Stienburg of Saint Mary’s is recipient of the Erin Bursey Memorial Award given to the women's volleyball student-athlete who best exhibits outstanding achievements as an athlete, in academics and in community involvement.
This award was renamed in honour of Erin Bursey, a former captain of Memorial’s women’s volleyball team. Bursey, a two-time academic all-Canadian died in 2012 after a pedestrian-vehicle accident in St. John's.
The AUS championship tourney begins 4:30 p.m. today as Acadia takes on Saint Mary’s in the other semifinal.
The semifinal winners meet in the championship final 7 p.m. Saturday at the Field House, with the victor in that one securing a berth in the 2018 U Sports championship in Quebec City later this month.
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All-star selections
The Atlantic University Sport 2017-18 women’s volleyball first and second team all-stars, and the conference all-rookie team, announced Thursday:
First all-star team
Courtney Baker, Dalhousie (3rd year – Bridgewater, N.S.)
Erin Smith, Saint Mary’s (5th year – Moncton, N.B.)
Julie Moore, Dalhousie (1st year – Halifax, N.S.)
Lucy Glen-Carter, Acadia (1st year – Toronto, Ont.)
Kiersten Fey, Memorial (3rd year – Selkirk, Man.)
Victoria Haworth, Dalhousie (3rd year – Waverley, N.S.)
Kailey Evans, Acadia (St. Andrews, Man.)
Second all-star team
Maddie Clarke, Saint Mary’s (4th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Mieke DuMont, Dalhousie (4th year – Kamloops, B.C.)
Pascale Doiron, Moncton (3rd year – Caraquet, N.B.)
Lauryn Renzella, Acadia (3rd year – Stouffville, Ont.)
Emilla Conlon, Saint Mary’s (3rd year – Dartmouth, N.S.)
Sarah Dawe, Memorial (3rd year – Mount Pearl, N.L.)
Sarah Ross, Acadia (5th year – Toronto, Ont.)
All-rookie team
(four selections)
Julie Moore, Dalhousie (Halifax, N.S.)
Lucy Glen-Carter, Acadia (Toronto, Ont.)
Catherine Callaghan, Dalhousie (Halifax, N.S.)
Emma Hackett, Memorial (Clarenville, N.L.)
