MONTREAL -- Katia Fortier was named tournament MVP, leading her Montreal Carabins to a 3-0 sweep over McGill in the gold-medal match of the 26th annual Martlet Invitational women's volleyball tournament, held Sunday at Love Competition Hall. Set scores were 25-12, 25-16 and 25-20. The Carabins have now won the tourney 13 times, grabbing five of those titles at the expense of the Martlets.

Queen's swept Saint Mary's 25-21, 25-16, 25-21 to claim bronze.

The Martlets went 3-2 at the event, opening on Friday with 3-1 and 3-0 victories over Queen's and Brock, respectively. On Saturday, McGill lost 3-1 to the Carabins but rebounded for a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Saint Mary's to qualify for the final.

The Martlet duo of Myriam Robitaille and Rowan Fletcher, named to the all-tournament team.

Robitaille, a six-foot middle blocker fom Terrebonne, Que., amassed 63.5 points over the weekend, in 18 sets played. The French literature junior had 37 kills, 12 aces, 14 stuff blocks, one assisted block, and made 20 digs out of 21 attempts. She averaged 3.50 points per game across the tourney.

Fletcher, a political science freshman from Montreal, racked up 22 kills, four aces, eight blocks, and 45 digs throughout five matches, averaging 3.40 points per game.

"Our team has improved every week since our preseason schedule began in mid-September," said Rachele Beliveau, a former Canadian Olympian setter now in her 26th season as head coach at McGill. This year's roster features seven freshmen, four sophomores, four juniors and three seniors.

"We have a lot of young kids so we have to be patient. There are a lot of little things they still have to learn at this level. So we plan to integrate little parts of our game, one step at a time. It's a very long season so we don't expect to have everyone at the top of their game at this point but we expect improvement every week and by the December exam break, we anticipate more cohesion and refined play.

"We have rotated in lots of new faces and I like what I've seen from everybody," added Beliveau. "When we've asked non-starters to come off the bench, they've done a really good job so far and that's a good sign."

McGill, which concluded preseason play with a 9-4 record, opens the regular season on Friday, Oct. 21 with a road game at Ottawa, which transfered from the OUA to the RSEQ conference this season. The Martlets dropped a 3-1 decision against the Gee-Gees in preseason action.
 
26th ANNUAL McGILL MARTLET INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE & RESULTS
(All games played at Love Competition Hall, Times listed are Eastern)

FRIDAY OCT. 14, 2016
Montreal 3, Saint Mary's 0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-7)   
McGill 3, Queen's 1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-11, 25-21)
Montreal 3, Brock 0 (25-7, 25-11, 25-13)
Saint Mary's 3, Queen's 2 (23-25, 27-25, 25-10, 22-25, 15-13)   
McGill 3, Brock 0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-19)

SATURDAY OCT. 15, 2016
Queen's 3, Brock 0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-12)
Montreal 3, McGill 1 (17-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-21)
Saint Mary's 3, Brock 1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-6, 25-22)
Montreal 3, Queen's 0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-19)
McGill 3, Saint Mary's 2 (25-18, 25-13, 22-25, 28-30, 15-12)

SUNDAY OCT. 16, 2016
11:00 am  BRONZE: Queen's 3, Saint Mary's 0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-21)
13:30 pm  GOLD: Montreal 3, McGill 0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-20)


ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Queen's # 11 Caroline Levingston
Saint Mary's #15 Erin Smith
McGill #16 Myriam Robitaille
McGill # 8 Rowan Fletcher
Montreal # 8 Stéphanie Lojen
Montreal # 17 Alexane Joly
 
TOURNAMENT MVP: Montreal  #15 Katia Fortier





Total McGill Invitational Tournament Titles Won

1. Montréal (13)
2. Sherbrooke (4)
3. McGill (3)
4. Concordia (2)
5. Laval (1)
6. Celtique Seniors (1)
7. Dalhousie (1)
8. Saint Mary's (1)   


All-Time McGill Invitational Volleyball Tournament Finalists

1991:     Concordia won 2-1 vs McGill    (15-17, 15-6, 15-11)
1992:     Concordia won 2-1 vs Sherbrooke    (10-15, 15-12, 15-12)
1993:     Montreal won 2-1 vs Sherbrooke    (7-15, 15-8, 15-9)
1994:     McGill won 3-0 vs Sherbrooke    (15-12, 15-3, 15-12)
1995:     Celtique Seniors won 3-0 vs McGill    (15-11, 15-13, 15-8)
1996:     Montreal won 3-2 vs McGill    (3-15, 15-6, 10-15, 15-10, 15-10)
1997:     McGill won 3-0 vs Montreal    (16-14, 15-6, 15-9)
1998:     Montreal won 3-0 vs Queen's    (15-3, 15-5, 15-12)
1999:     Sherbrooke won 3-0 vs Winnipeg    (26-24, 25-23, 25-22)
2000:     Sherbrooke won 3-2 vs Laval    (25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 21-25, 15-10)
2001:     Montreal won 3-1 vs Winnipeg    (18-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22)
2002:     Montreal won 3-2 vs McGill    (25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11)
2003:     Montreal won 3-2 vs Laval    (22-25, 17-25, 25-23, 28-26, 15-7)
2004:     Sherbrooke won 3-1 vs Trinity Western    (19-25, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20)
2005:     Laval won 3-0 vs McGill    (25-20, 25-14, 25-14)
2006:     Montreal won 3-0 vs Regina    (25-22, 25-22, 5-18)
2007:     Montreal won 3-0 vs McGill    (25-15, 25-18, 25-16)
2008:     Montreal won 3-2 vs McGill    (25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 15-11)
2009:     Montreal won 3-2 vs Manitoba    (25-19, 25-27, 19-25, 25-15, 15-11)
2010:     Dalhousie won 3-2 vs Calgary    (22-25, 15-25, 25-18, 26-24, 16-14)
2011:     Saint Mary's won 3-0 vs Dalhousie    (25-14, 25-18, 25-18)
2012:     Sherbrooke won 3-0 vs Saint Mary's    (25-20, 25-15, 25-18)
2013:     Montreal won 3-1 vs Queen's    (18-25, 25-12, 25-17, 25-19)
2014:     Montreal won 3-0 vs Memorial    (28-26, 25-15, 25-12)
2015:     McGill won 3-1 vs Toronto (25-18, 25-14, 27-25, 25-17)
2016:     Montreal won 3-0 vs McGill (25-12, 25-16, 25-20)


SOURCE:
 
Kristen Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
514-398-7012
 
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