CLEARWATER, Fla. -- McGill teammates Yasmeen Dawoodjee and Myriam Robitaille were both named to the all-tournament team but Sherbrooke outlasted the Martlets 3-2 in a marathon championship match at the Innisbrook Invitational tournament in Clearwater, Sunday. The set scores were 28-26, 25-14, 21-25, 25-27 and 15-13.

The ninth-ranked Martlets, who have reached the gold medal match in all four of their tournaments this season, posted a 3-2 mark over the competition. "It was a great performance by the girls who had only a one-hour practice after the holiday break before heading to the tournament," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau.

Dawoodjee, a 5-foot-8 setter from Ottawa, racked up a single-game school record 57 assists in the final. She tallied a whopping 180 assists over the five tourney contests for an average of 9.5 per set. The fifth-year senior in nutritional science added 57 digs, eight aces, seven kills and four stuff blocks.

Robitaille, a six-foot middle blocker, registered 49 kills over the tourney, with a 37 per cent kill rate and a 27 per cent efficiency. The second-year translation major from Terrebonne, Que., added 25 digs, 7.5 blocks and four aces.

The first salvo in Sunday's extended final was fired by the Martlets, who took a 12-7 lead in the opening set and forced U de S to burn both of their team timeouts early on. But Sherbrooke battled back slowly and moved into a 21-18 margin. The teams reached bonus points and Sherbrooke found the edge to win the set 28-26.
 
Pressing their advantage in the second, the Vert & Or led early and often in a dominant showing. Their lead grew to 11-7 and they were ahead by seven at the technical timeout. That trend held and a stuff block from Sarah-Jeanne Meunier-Bedard sealed the frame at 25-14 to take a commanding two-set lead.

The Martlets, however, battled back to win the next two sets.  They faced early adversity in the third, trailing 6-1 and calling an early team timeout, before reeling off a 9-2 run to snatch the lead. They nurtured that into the technical timeout, where their advantage grew to four points but were overcome by a late-set run by Sherbrooke. Swinging momentum yet again to tie the set at 21-21, Undaunted, McGill fired off the next four points to get the win.
 
The see-saw battle continued in the fourth, with both sides enjoying leads in the early going before Sherbrooke reached the technical timeout with a slim one-point advantage. There was nothing to choose between the two as they moved into bonus points but Sherbrooke blinked first in the showdown as McGill evened the match with a 27-25 set win.
 
Riding the momentum, McGill grabbed the first four points of the rubber match but Sherbrooke immediately struck back and finally took a lead at 10-9. The Martlets kept it close but watched in disbelief as their RSEQ conference rivals completed the comeback at 15-13.

Marie-Eve Dorion paced McGill with 14 kills and 37 digs, along with a solid passing ratio of 2.33. Catherine Amyot had 13 kills, one stuff block, a pair of digs and a 2.16 passing ratio. Erika Cournoyer contributed 11 kills, four aces and a block. Robitaille added a dozen kills and eight digs.

McGill has racked up an impressive record to 25-7 overall. With nine games remaining plus playoffs, the Martlets have a chance to break the single-season school mark for wins, accomplished in 2006-07 when they posted a 35-19 record. The countdown with history resumes on Jan. 16 when Laval travels to Love Competition Hall to confront the Martlets in a key RSEQ regular season matchup.

Innisbrook Invitational Volleyball Tournament Results
 
Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015
McMaster  defeated  Brock 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-12)       
Sherbrooke defeated Brandon 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-20)
McMaster defeated McGill 3-2 (10-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 15-11)
 
Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015
McGill defeated Brandon 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-18)   
Sherbrooke defeated McMaster 3-0 (26-24, 25-18, 25-19)
McGill defeated Brock 3-0 (25-13  25-20, 27-25)
 
Friday, Jan. 1, 2015
(no games)

Saturday, Jan. 2, 2015
McMaster defeated Brandon 3-0 (set scores not available)       
McGill defeated Sherbrooke 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 26-24)   

Sunday, Jan. 3, 2015
GOLD: Sherbrooke defeated McGill 3-2 (29-27, 25-14, 21-25, 25-27, 15-13)   
BRONZE: Brandon defeated McMaster 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-17)   
SEMIFINAL: Brandon defeated Brock 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-13)

SOURCE:
Fraser Caldwell, McMaster University
caldwef@mcmaster.ca
(905) 518-9937
 
 
Earl Zukerman, McGill University
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
(514) 398-7012
 
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www.mcgillathletics.ca/calendar.aspx