BURNABY, B.C. – The final home game for graduating Simon Fraser volleyball players
Farnaaz Johal,
Julia Tays, and
Bianca Te was a triumphant one as the hosts defeated Saint Martin's (Wash.) in four sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-15, and 25-21) Saturday night in Burnaby, B.C.
The three, along with their loved ones, were feted in a pre-game ceremony in front of a joyous crowd at the West Gym. It wasn't surprising Tays led the way, as she dished out 47 assists, and served up seven aces. The setter from Winnipeg is already SFU's NCAA-era career leader in both categories. In total, the team had 11 aces against SMU.
Libero Te had 25 digs while rookie opposite
Brooke Dexter had 19 kills to pace the offence. Sophomore middle blocker
Kalyn Hartmann recorded 14 kills and six block assists.
"It took us a little while to get going but once we found our rhythm, we figured it out," said Tays. "Saint Martin's definitely played well, so kudos to them. We had to put in a whole team effort in order to get the win. It definitely felt nice to have the home crowd, and lots of people, celebrating and cheering for us."
Photo by Wilson Wong
A deciding fifth set looked like a possibility as the visiting Saints used a late 6-1 run to take a 21-20 edge in the fourth. But a kill from freshman outside hitter
Davida Hill sparked a set- and match-ending run of five-consecutive points. After Hill, Hartmann followed up with a pair of kills before Dexter added one of her own. SFU got past the finish line on an ensuing SMU attack error.
SFU took control of the third set early. Leading 8-5, SFU got a kill from freshman
Jocelyn Sherman that then put Tays on the service line. Her team won the next six points, thanks to three Tays aces, a Dexter kill and a pair of attack errors from the Saints. The score was 15-5 in favour of the home team, a 10-point advantage that was also the margin of victory in the set (25-15).
Gallery: (11-6-2021) SFU Women's Volleyball Senior Night 2021
The second set saw some big momentum swings after the teams were deadlocked 10-10. SFU won five of the next six points, but the Saints responded with six in a row to go ahead 17-15. The home side then delivered a decisive blow in the form of a 10-2 surge to finish the set. SFU captured the final five points, with the last four coming via two Dexter kills, and two Tays aces.
Saint Martin's was able to pull away late to claim the opening set, taking seven of the final 10 points to win by five.
Jocelyn Sherman. Photo by Wilson Wong
After Saturday's victory, Tays reflected on spending her university career at SFU with Johal and Te.
"We've been super lucky to have had what we've experienced, to have Gina (Schmidt) as our head coach, and all the coaches we've learned from in our five years," said Tays. "Even though this is an extra year because of COVID, I feel grateful to have experienced it with Bianca and Far, and to be playing at the level we are right now."
With wins over Western Oregon (Thursday) and SMU (Saturday), SFU improved to 17-5 overall and 11-4 in GNAC league play. The squad is second in the conference standings, two and a half games behind Western Washington. The Vikings also have a game in hard.
Next week, SFU will be on the road with contests at Seattle Pacific (Thursday) and Montana State Billings (Saturday). It will finish out the 2021 regular season on Nov. 20 at Western Washington.
Follow SFU Athletics on Twitter and on Instagram
--@SFU_Athletics--
