Box Score
SHERBROOKE — The McGill women's volleyball team took "trick or treat" to the max in Sherbrooke on Halloween Friday. They played tricks on an unsuspecting Vert & Or squad and then treated themselves to a stunning 3-1 road victory in a city that has been very unwelcoming to the Martlets for many years.

In fact, it was McGill's first road victory at Sherbrooke since Jan. 29, 2011, snapping a seven-game losing streak there.

The victory, by set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-18, took an hour and 56 minutes to play and was especially meaningful for McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, a fomer Canadian Olympian and native of Sherbrooke who once starred on the court for the Vert & Or and was inducted to their sports hall of fame in 2009.

"It was a great that we were able to stay focussed through the whole game, it was their home opener, in front of a large and very loud crowd," said Beliveau, who has racked up a 512-463-2 record overall in her 24 seasons as bench boss at McGill. "We played a good game in general, a little tentative at times but we were patient, played a good team game and were able to pull it off. It's been a while that we beat them in their own gym."

The McGill offence was led by three players, namely Catherine Amyot, Marie-Christine Lapointe and Ashley Norfleet.

Amyot, a 5-foot-10 power-hitter from Ottawa, finished with a game-high 14.5 points, including 11 kills and two stuff blocks. Lapointe, a 6-foot setter from St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., finished with 11.5 points and Norfleet wasn't far behind with 10.5. Other categorical leaders for McGill included Yasmeen Dawoodjee with 34 assists and three aces, in addition to Marjolaine Ste-Marie with 31 digs.

Beliveau was largely impressed with the collective defensive effort put forth her team, but particularly noted Norfleet's defensive prowess after the 5-foot-11 power hitter had her best statistical game of the year thus far.

"Ashley's blocking really well, much better than last year," Beliveau said about the 5-foot-11, junior power-hitter from Brossard, Que. "She's making at least two or three blocks every game now, which is much better than last year and she's starting to take a leadership role, which is very good to see."

Leading the way for Sherbrooke was middle-blocker Roxane Hasseni with 12.5 points, including 12 kills, and 20 digs. 

The Martlets outscored Sherbrooke in most major statistical categories, such as kills (43-35), digs (127-118), service aces (6-5) and team blocks (12-8).

McGill continues to roll, having won their first five games to start the season for a two-game lead over Sherbrooke (3-2), which now sits in the RSEQ basement. The next tests for both McGill and Sherbrooke will come against the also-undefeated Universite de Montreal, who are 5-0. McGill hits the court against the Carabins on Sunday afternoon, 1 p.m. at Centre CEPSUM, while Sherbrooke will take on UdeM at home Nov. 7.

BOXSCORE
McGill def. Sherbrooke 3-1
(25-23,25-17,23-25,25-18)
(31 oct. 14 at Sherbrooke, Qc)

McGill (Kills-aces-blocks) - Catherine Amyot 11-0-4; Marie-C. Lapointe 9-1-3; Ashley Norfleet 9-0-3; Myriam Robitaille 6-1-5; Marie-Pier Durivage 4-0-2; Virginie Hebert 3-1-3; Yasmeen Dawoodjee 1-3-1; Totals 43-6-12.0. (Assists) - Yasmeen Dawoodjee 34. (Dig leaders) - Marjolaire Ste-Marie 31; Catherine Amyot 27; Marie-C. Lapointe 24; Ashley Norfleet 21; Yasmeen Dawoodjee 12; Myriam Robitaille 9

Sherbrooke (Kills-aces-blocks) - Roxane Hasseni 12-0-1; Cather. Deslauriers 7-0-1; Rosalie Coderre 5-0-0; Kariane Dubois 5-0-0; Anne-Julie D'Auteuil 2-3-6; Kim Robitaille 2-1-1; Camille Charest-G. 1-1-2; Veronique David 1-0-1; Totals 35-5-8.0. (Assists) - Kim Robitaille 28. (Dig leaders) - Joanie Whittom 30; Kim Robitaille 27; Roxane Hasseni 20; Camille Charest-G. 12; Cather. Deslauriers 10; Rosalie Coderre 8

Site: Sherbrooke, Qc (Pavillon Univestrie)
Date: 31 oct. 14
Attend: 200
Time: 1:56
Referees: Denise Letourneau, J Francois Delab
 

Pos RSEQ STANDINGS GP W L SW SL PF PA AVG DIFF 1 McGill 5 5 0 15 1 398 271 1.000 0.0 2 Laval 4 4 0 12 0 300 220 1.000 -0.5 3 Montréal 4 4 0 12 1 322 218 1.000 -0.5 4 Sherbrooke 5 3 2 12 8 452 410 0.600 -2.0