MONTREAL -- Emilie Matte de Grasse of Montreal scored 15 points as 10th-ranked McGill swept the No.9 Sherbrooke Vert et Or 25-14, 25-18, and 25-16 for a crucial victory in RSEQ women's volleyball at Love Competition Hall on Saturday.

The win almost clinches home-court advantage for McGill in the upcoming best-of-three conference semifinals, where the same two teams will meet again with a shot at Nationals on the line. McGill holds the tie-breaker should they end up even in the standings, winning three of four regular season match-ups -- and four of six contests overall -- between the bitter rivals this year.

McGill nearly doubled the visitors with a 41-22 margin in kills, a 69-35 advantage in digs, a 10-5 lead in service aces, and a 5-2 difference in stuff blocks.

"We needed a game like that. It was good to finish with a big win against them before the playoffs," said head coach Rachele Beliveau of the confidence-boosting sweep.

"We know we can beat them and we just have to play our way. At the same time, we have to be well prepared. We know Sherbrooke is going to fight (right to the end) but this was the last time we will see them in the regular season and it was a really good way to end (the series)."

Matte de Grasse, an education sophomore, had 12 kills, two service aces, and two assisted stuff blocks to earn 15 points, along with five digs. She played the game outside of her usual spot, as the veteran coach opted to switch things up.

"We put Emilie in Position 4 and Marie-Eve Dorion in No.2, and it was really positive -- we showed much more control of the back and front lines together," Beliveau explained, noting that the move was not unprecedented. "We tried it a little bit in (the Christmas trip to) Florida, and we came back and played another way. We thought today was a good time to test it again and it (worked)."

Beliveau was also particularly pleased with the team synergy.

"(Setter) Yasmeen Dawoodjee did an awesome job, our middles (Erika Cournoyer and Myriam Robitaille) played really, really well, and it opened the game again for the power-hitters (Matte de Grasse, Catherine Amyot, Ariane Lavoie-Boutin, and Dorion), who finished the plays."

Cournoyer, of Longueuil, Que., tallied 13.5 points on the strength of eight kills, three aces, and four blocks along with four digs. Dawoodjee, a fifth-year science senior from Ottawa, collected 30 assists and had a dozen digs in addition to 4.5 points (three kills, an ace, and an assisted block). Amyot, an engineering student from Montreal, produced a game-high 18 digs and scored nine points with seven kills and a pair of aces. Dorion put up six kills, an ace, and a block for 7.5 points, along with 15 digs.

Passing was also a highlight, as the Martlets achieved a ratio of 22.3 per cent. Marjolaine Ste-Marie, the 5-foot-5 libero from St. Lambert, Que., led the team with 23.9, followed by Amyot at 23.8.

Sarah-Jeanne Meunier-Bédard of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., was the top point-getter for the Vert & Or with seven kills, while teammate Joanie Whittom of Sept-Îles, Que., had 10 digs.

With three games remaining before post-season play, the Martlets improved to 13-6 to give them the upper hand in second place behind Montreal (17-3) and will get a much-needed few days off to recover before last-place UQAM (5-13) visits Love Competition Hall on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.

Sherbrooke, which dropped to third with a 12-7 record, also returns to action on Friday, when it hosts fourth-place Laval (7-11).
 

Pos	CLASSEMENTS RSEQ STANDINGS	MJ/GP	V/W	D/L	SG/SW	SP/SL	PP/PF	PC/PA	MOY/WIN%	Diff./GBL	PTS
1	Montréal	20	17	3	54	18	1699	1400	0.850	0.0	34
2	McGill	19	13	6	46	25	1639	1439	0.684	3.5	26
3	Sherbrooke	19	12	7	40	31	1569	1527	0.632	4.5	24
4	Laval	18	7	11	33	39	1565	1583	0.389	9.0	14
5	UQAM

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012