OTTAWA -- Freshman
Claire Vercheval of Ste. Julie, Que., tallied a game-high 23.5 points as McGill defeated Ottawa 3-1 in a key RSEQ women's volleyball matchup at Montpetit Hall on Saturday. The set scores were 25-16, 25-22, 20-25 and 25-21.
It was the Martlets' first win in three regular-season meetings with the Gee-Gees, who are playing their first year in the conference after transferring from the OUA. McGill (6-7), which upset Laval on Friday, is back in the heat of an intense playoff race. They are tied with third-place Sherbrooke (6-6) and one win shy of the second-place Rouge et Or (7-6).
"It was a tough combination to beat Laval and Ottawa back-to-back with little rest between last night's game and this one so we're pleased," said McGill head coach
Rachele Beliveau, who improved to 575-507-2 lifetime in her 26 years behind the McGill bench.
Vercheval, the daughter of RDS football analyst
Pierre Vercheval, a former CIS and CFL standout, had 21 kills, two service aces and an assisted stuff-block. The 6-foot-2 power-hitter also registered eight digs and an assist.
Teammate
Myriam Robitaille, a junior from Terrebonne, Que., added 12.5 points on the strength of seven kills, three aces, two stuff blocks and an assisted block.
"Offensively we were really good as a team," said Beliveau. "Claire had a lot of kills and she had a high kill-efficiency along with
Elisabeth Perrault,
Emilie Matte de Grasse and
Erika Cournoyer."
Perrault, a freshman middle blocker from Laval, Que., collected 15 points, courtesy of nine kills, three aces, two stuff blocks and a pair of assisted blocks. She added five digs and three assists. Matte de Grasse, a junior from Montreal, contributed 10 points with nine kills and an ace as well as 11 digs and a pair of assists. Cournoyer, a senior from Longueuil, Que., rounded out scoring for the Martlets with nine points, on seven kills and one block and two assisted blocks.
Ottawa had a 56-53 edge in kills, a 10-9 advantage in aces and a 48-46 difference in digs.
"We reached our goal, which was to hit at least 20 per cent efficiency as a team, so we had great offensive production from everybody," noted Beliveau, whose squad registered 29.4 per cent kill efficiency. "The difference from previous games was that we played really good defence. We dug a lot of balls to keep the rallies going. Weaker defence led to some tough losses earlier and we've now converted that into two big wins this weekend."
Libero
Marjolaine Ste-Marie of St. Lambert, Que., led the defensive effort with 15 digs. Setter
Thara Dawoodjee of Ottawa was credited with 40 assists.
Caroline Lemay racked up a game-high 29 points for the Gee-Gees, with 24 kills, four aces, and a block.
Ottawa (5-7) visits Sherbrooke (6-6) on Sunday (Jan. 22), while the Martlets (6-7) will confront division-leading Montreal (9-3) on Jan. 27.
| 2016-17 RSEQ Women's Volleyball Standings (updated after Saturday) • Classement de la saison régulière |
|
|
| 1 |
Montréal |
12 |
9 |
3 |
30 |
13 |
1018 |
882 |
0.750 |
0.0 |
18 |
| 2 |
Laval |
13 |
7 |
6 |
27 |
23 |
1097 |
1027 |
0.538 |
2.5 |
14 |
| 3 |
Sherbrooke |
12 |
6 |
6 |
24 |
23 |
1012 |
1009 |
0.500 |
3.0 |
12 |
| 4 |
McGill |
13 |
6 |
7 |
26 |
29 |
1151 |
1197 |
0.462 |
3.5 |
12 |
| 5 |
Ottawa |
12 |
5 |
7 |
19 |
28 |
1006 |
1082 |
0.417 |
4.0 |
10 |
| 6 |
UQAM |
12 |
4 |
8 |
17 |
27 |
913 |
1000 |
0.333 |
5.0 |
8 |
