UNB Saint John Athletics
Home of the Seawolves

Dino Karatzios believes his team is capable of challenging for a championship.
The head coach of the UNB Saint John men’s volleyball squad knows it’s early, but he liked what he saw in a season-opening 3-0 road win over Crandall University (25-17, 25-9, 25-23) on Nov. 3.
“I’ve had some good teams in the past, but this one is special,” Karatzios said. “This one has a little spark to it. We’re going to do some damage this year.”
On a roster with five rookies and no fourth-year players, Karatzios will need veteran leadership from the likes of Liam McLellan and Finlay Kearney-Staunton. McLellan tallied 24 assists and five digs in the win over Crandall, while William Siefker notched 12 kills and three service aces. Adam Gauthier collected 10 kills with a sizzling .750 hitting percentage.

“This group seems to be jelling really well and everybody is buying in,” Karatzios said. “Guys are doing the things they need to do to get better, and you don’t need to tell them twice. It’s really encouraging.”
That said, Karatzios realizes the work has just begun. His Seawolves have a 3-4 record after seven matches.
“This year is different than prior years,” Karatzios said about the ACAA. “From what I can see, no team has a superstar, someone that’s unstoppable. It’s an open field.”

The UNB Saint John women’s team also opened the campaign against Crandall, dropping a 3-1 decision (25-22, 25-17, 22-25, 26-24). Dominique Gendron had 11 kills in the losing cause. The Seawolves lost their second match by the same score to Mount Saint Vincent University (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-15). Emily Robichaud tallied 10 kills for UNB Saint John and Sophia Saad notched 14 digs.
Regardless of those results, Seawolves head coach Colin Chambers was pleased that his team didn’t die in either match after losing the first two sets. At the same time, he feels his players need to improve their second efforts.

“It’s a really gritty league and everybody is working hard,” said Chambers, whose charges are 2-5 entering December. “It’s all about momentum and if you work really hard for that one point, it can turn around the whole set, and in turn, the match. We’ve had a lot of long rallies, and a lot of times it looks like we get a free ball, and we transition and get a good swing and the other team just finds a way to pop it up with a diving arm or whatever it is. We need a little more of that desire to fight for those dirty or messy points.”
Chambers knows it’s not a talent problem, and he still expects his team to reach the playoffs.
“I think we’re right at the top of the pack with our ability,” the coach said. “From what I’ve seen from all the teams we’ve faced and watched across the league, the one thing they all do really well is that when a ball gets put down, they’re hitting the floor, and whether it’s pretty or not, they’re getting a touch and they’re working to scramble and keep those dirty balls alive so they have a chance to send it back over.”

To keep up with the Seawolves Volleyball statistics please visit the ACAA.