KINGSTON, Ont. -- Ariane Lavoie-Boutin of La Prairie, Que., scored 16 points as McGill defeated Queen's 3-1 to close out the Queen's Invitational women's volleyball tournament at the ARC Gymnasium on Sunday. The set scores were 25-15, 17-25, 25-17 and 25-23.

The Martlets improved their record to 6-2 in the preseason. One of those victories was a previous sweep of the Gaels in their last meeting, at the Citadins Invitational on Sept. 24.

Lavoie-Boutin, a 5-foot-9 mechanical engineering sophomore, earned her points with 12 kills and four service aces. She also contributed 13 digs, one assist and had a 2.31 passing ratio (out of 3).

Queen's outside hitter Caroline Livingstone led the game with 17.5 points, courtesy of 14 kills, two aces, and three stuff blocks.

The Martlets held a 48-40 lead in kills, a 76-73 edge in digs, and a 9-3 margin in service aces.

"We played fairly well today but struggled in the second set," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "Queen's was sharp in that set and it seemed like we were lost but we bounced back. We showed good patience and were happy with a second-place finish (behind Trinity Western)."

Two members of the Martlets were named to the all-tournament team, freshman Claire Vercheval and junior Emilie Matte de Grasse, both of them physical education majors.

Vercheval, a 6-foot-2 power-hitter from Ste. Julie, Que., racked up 37 digs, 19 kills, one ace, and one block over the three tournament games.
De Grasse, who measures 5-foot-10, is a third-year power-hitter who collected 23 digs, 22 kills, one block and passed for 2.10 over the weekend.

McGill now gets a two-week break but will confront Queen's yet again on Oct. 14 at Love Competition Hall to open the Martlet Invitational, where they will also host Brock, Montreal and St. Mary's. The three-day competition runs from Oct. 14-16.

MARTLET MURMURS: McGill had to do without the services of team captain Myriam Robitaille this past weekend. The six-foot middle-blocker attended the funeral of one of her cousins.

2016 QUEEN'S INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS

Friday, Sept. 30
McGill 3, UNB 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20)
Queen's 0, Trinity Western 3 (25-16, 25-21,25-17)

Saturday, Oct. 1
Trinity Western 3, McGill 0 (25-20, 29-27, 25-19)
Queen's 3, UNB 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17)

Sunday, Oct. 2
UNB 0, Trinity Western 3 (25-19, 25-15, 25-7)
Queen's 1, McGill 3 (25-15, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23)
 
FRIDAY RECAPS
McGill 3, UNB 0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) BOXSCORE

The McGill Martlets came to play as they kicked off the Queen's Invitational with a dominant performance against the UNB Varsity Reds taking the match in a clean sweep 3-0. 

Their best attack percentage of the game came in the first set where they threw down a 0.308 as a team and easily opened up the match with a 25-15 win. Erika Cournoyer lead the way for McGill putting up 10 points in the match picking up two solo and two assisted blocks, an ace and six kills. McGill continued their strong play taking the second set 25-18 finishing 14 of 33 attacks while the Varsity Reds had their best kill percentage of the match at 0.111 but still not up to par with the Martlets.

The final set also went the way of McGill this time 25-20, despite 10 errors from the Varsity Reds; it was the closest set of the afternoon. 

Queen's 0, Trinity Western 3 (25-16, 25-21, 25-17) BOXSCORE

Queen's dropped a 3-0 match to the Trinity Western Spartans on Friday night at the ARC. The first set took a swing the way of the Spartans after the Gaels were down just 12-9, Trinity Western fired off five points in a row and carried that momentum to a 25-16 opening set. 

In the second, Queen's and Trinity Western went back and forth early before the Gaels held a slight edge 15-13 after a Danielle Corrigan kill. The Spartans rallied once again taking seven of the next nine points and held on to take the set 25-21. The Spartans opened up a big lead early in the final set leading 16-8 at the technical timeout. They pushed through a late Gaels charge to take the set 25-17 and the match 3-0. Caroline Livingston led the way for Queen's with 10 kills earning 11.5 points while Elizabeth Wendel picked up 15.5 points for the Spartans.

SATURDAY RECAPS
Trinity Western 3, McGill 0 (25-19, 29-27, 25-19) BOXSCORE

The Spartans moved to 2-0 on the tournament and have yet to drop a set as they took down the McGill Martlets in straight sets on Saturday afternoon at the ARC.

Elizabeth Wendel had a big day for Trinity Western putting down 15 kills and picking up 19.5 points to lead both teams on the day. 

Trinity Western had no trouble taking the opening set, one where they never trailed throughout. In the second set McGill pushed the Spartans to extra points and with a 27-26 lead the Martlets couldn't close it out and dropped three straight points and the set 29-27. The Spartans then completed the sweep with a 25-19 final set victory. With the loss McGill moves to 1-1 through two games.

Queen's 3, UNB 1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17) BOXSCORE

The host Queen's Gaels picked up their first win of the tournament by dispatching the UNB Varsity Reds 3-1. UNB dropped their second game in as many days at the tournament.

Queen's picked up an easy first set win 25-13 but dropped a close second set 25-23 to UNB. Behind 18 kills and 13 digs from Caroline Livingston, the Gaels took control the rest of the way taking a 25-18 set and sealing the match with a 25-17 win. 

Queen's will look to make it two straight wins when they take on McGill on Sunday.

SUNDAY RECAPS
UNB 0, Trinity Western 3 (25-19, 25-15, 25-7) BOXSCORE

The Trinity Western Spartans finished off their dominant showing at the Queen's Invitational with their third straight 3-0 victory defeating the UNB Varsity Reds with set scores 25-19, 25-15 and 25-7.

The Spartans ran the table over their three games never losing a single set. Their final set of the weekend, a 25-7 clinching mark, was their best margin of victory over the three days.

Sophie Carpentier led the way for the Spartans on Sunday finishing with 12 kills, nine digs and an ace.

Queen's 1, McGill 3 (25-15, 17-25, 25-17, 25-23) BOXSCORE

The host Gaels finish the Queen's Invitational with a 1-2 record after dropping a four set affair to the McGill Martlets on Sunday afternoon.

After dropping the opening set Queen's fought back to take the second 25-17. McGill went up 2-1 and closed out another close set for the match 25-23.

Livingston led the Gaels with 14 kills while Nicola Ros handled the setting duties for Queen's dishing out 32 assists on the afternoon. Queen's will meet McGill in their next game on October 14 at the Martlets Invitational Tournament.
 
FOR FURTHER INFO CONTACT:

Kirsten Whelan or Earl Zukerman
McGill Sports Info Office
(514) 398-7012