OTTAWA -- Claire Vercheval of Ste. Julie, Que., registered 21.5 points as the visiting McGill Martlets defeated Ottawa 3-1 to open the RSEQ women's volleyball regular season schedule at Montpetit Hall, on Friday. The set scores were 25-16, 27-25, 24-26 and 25-20.

The victory improved McGill's head-to-head record to 3-2 in five regular-season contests since the Gee-Gees transferred over from the OUA league last year.

"One of the things we did well today, because Ottawa played tough, was to be very patient," said Martlets head coach Rachele Beliveau. "We were successful in avoiding panic in front of the intensity the Gee-Gees displayed from playing their first game at home in front of a supportive crowd.

"We couldn't really go with the game plan that we'd prepared because the Ottawa players were (well positioned)," she added. "We had to slightly change what we were doing but by the end it paid off."

Vercheval, a 6-foot-1 power-hitter, earned her points on the strength of a game-high 18 kills, three service aces and one assisted block. She added seven digs.
Elisabeth Perrault, a 5-foot-10 middle blocker from Laval, Que., tallied 15.5 points on 15 kills and an assisted block. The finance sophomore also had one dig and an assist. Team captain Myriam Robitaille of Terrebonne, Que., also reached double-figures in scoring with 10.5 points, from seven kills, an ace, one stuff block and three assisted blocks. Marjolaine Ste-Marie, the libero from St. Lambert, Que., recorded a game-high 21 digs and setter Thara Dawoodjee of Ottawa racked up 37 assists.

"It was a really consistent performance from both Claire and Elisabeth," praised Beliveau. "Both of them had a high number of kills and great efficiency. Also, Marjolaine played a stong game at libero.

"Rowan Fletcher was strong on both serve reception and defence to stabilize the first contact (with the ball)," added Beliveau of the sophomore from Montreal who plays right side. "That gave us good offence to go with."

Caroline Lemay led the Gee-Gees with 16 points and teammate Meseret Tamrat scored 13 points.

McGill had a 49-45 edge in kills while Ottawa held a 10-6 advantage in service aces and a 70-61 margin in digs. Both teams managed six blocks.

Ottawa (0-1) travels to Sherbrooke (0-0) on Sunday (Oct. 22). The Martlets (1-0) visit Laval (0-1) on Oct. 27.