MONTREAL -- Team captain
Myriam Robitaille of Terrebonne, Que., tallied 20 points and head coach
Rachele Beliveau earned her 600th career victory as No.8 McGill rallied to topple Ottawa 3-2 in RSEQ women's volleyball at Love Competition Hall on Sunday. The Martlets regrouped from a 2-0 deficit and also came from behind in both the fourth and fifth sets, winning by set scores of 20-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-22 and 15-12.
The result improved McGill's lifetime regular season record to 5-2 against the Gee-Gees since they joined the Quebec conference last season.
"It's only when I saw the (promotional) sign on the wall that I remembered (that the milestone was within reach)," said Beliveau, a former Canadian Olympian who owns a 600-507-2 overall record in 1,109 contests overall during her 27 years at the helm of the Martlets program. Although national records are incomplete, Beliveau -- who has more victories than any coach, regardless of sport, during McGill's lengthy athletics history -- appears to be the third women's volleyball coach in U SPORTS history to reach the 600-win plateau, behind Manitoba's
Ken Bentley (1,037 in 32 seasons) and Alberta's
Laurie Eisler (750 in 26 seasons), both of whom are still coaching.
"You really focus on what you have to do and on the game. The same as an athlete -- our game preparation (as coaches) is different but you have to prepare options for what you need to do, if things go wrong. You have preparation to do, so you're focused on the game (not the milestone). I thank McGill for giving me the chance and the opportunity to coach here."
The Martlets had a 51-44 advantage in kills and a 47-44 edge in digs while the visitors had a 14-11 margin in aces. Both teams were credited with nine blocks.
"Our defence is coming along really well," noted Beliveau, a former University of Sherbrooke star setter who played for Canada at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. "We still need to work on our first contact again, serve and serve reception. We're serving well, we're just trying to decrease the number of mistakes we're making at the same time... But every team is like that. The servers are becoming tougher than what the serve receivers can handle. Offensively we're there and defensively we're getting better. We're digging a lot of good balls now."
Robitaille, a six-foot middle blocker, earned her points on the strength of 13 kills, a pair of service aces, three stuff blocks and four assisted blocks. She also had two assists and a dig.
Sophomore
Claire Vercheval of Ste. Julie, Que., followed with 19 points. She had 17 kills and two aces and added eight digs.
Erika Cournoyer of Longueuil, Que., also reached double-digits with 12 points, courtesy of seven kills, four aces and a stuff block, while chipping in with three digs.
Catherine Duchaine, a sophomore setter from Montreal, racked up a game- and career-high 39 assists, along with five digs. Junior libero
Lea-Marie Duguay of Lorraine, Que., played four sets and registered 13 digs and six assists.
"Lea-Marie had an outstanding game," said Beliveau. "Stabilizing serve receive, defence… she brought momentum and aggressiveness."
Ottawa was led by
Caroline Lemay's 20-point effort.
McGill, which improved to 12-3, has clinched a playoff berth and assured themselves of at least a top three finish. They sit one victory behind the division-leading Montreal Carabins (13-2) with five games left to play. McGill visits third-place Laval (9-5) on Friday, Feb. 2. They have one contest remaining against each school in the six-team Quebec conference.
Ottawa (3-12), which is tied for fifth place with Sherbrooke (3-12), is two points back of UQAM (4-10) for the final playoff berth. The Gee-Gees are slated for a showdown with Sherbrooke on Feb. 3.
LINK TO BOXSCORE
| 2017-18 RSEQ Volleyball Standings • Classement de la saison régulière du volleyball (f) |
|
|
| 1 |
Montréal |
15 |
13 |
2 |
39 |
17 |
1300 |
1084 |
0.867 |
0.0 |
26 |
| 2 |
McGill |
15 |
12 |
3 |
39 |
18 |
1302 |
1189 |
0.800 |
1.0 |
24 |
| 3 |
Laval |
14 |
9 |
5 |
34 |
20 |
1234 |
1153 |
0.643 |
3.5 |
18 |
| 4 |
UQAM |
14 |
4 |
10 |
23 |
36 |
1173 |
1304 |
0.286 |
8.5 |
8 |
| 5 |
Sherbrooke |
15 |
3 |
12 |
18 |
39 |
1183 |
1324 |
0.200 |
10.0 |
6 |
| 6 |
Ottawa |
15 |
3 |
12 |
19 |
42 |
1236 |
1374 |
0.200 |
10.0 |
6 |
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McGILL COACHING ALL-TIME WIN LEADERS
(updated on Jan. 28, 2018)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*600 Rachele Beliveau, Volleyball (W) 27 seasons (1991-present)
*485 Peter Smith, Hockey (W) 19 seasons (1994-present; took sabbatical in 2009-10)
293 Martin Raymond, Hockey (M) 14 seasons (1994-2009)
*249 Marc Mounicot Soccer (W) 15 seasons (women's coach (222 wins): 1998-2012; men's coach (27 wins: 2013-present)
*248 Ryan Thorne, Basketball (W) 15 seasons (2003-present)
*229 Kelly Nobes, Hockey (M) 8 seasons (2010-present)
193 Ken Schildroth, Basketball (M) 15 seasons (1984-91, 1992-00)
190 Hubert Lacroix, Basketball (W) 9 seasons (1978-87)
*169 Tim Murdoch, Lacrosse (M) 15 seasons (2003-present)
*159 David DeAveiro, Basketball (M) 8 seasons (2001-present)
150 Butch Staples, Basketball (M) 7 seasons (1974-81)
137 Chris Hunter, Basketball (W) 7 seasons (1987-94)
137 Dr. Bobby Bell, Hockey (M) 10 seasons (1929-37, 1942-43, 1944-45)
130 Ken Tyler, Hockey (M) 9 seasons (1979-88)
124 Charlie Baillie, Football (M) 29 seasons (1972-2000)
122 Jean Pronovost, Hockey (M) 7 seasons (1988-94)
118 Lisen Moore, Basketball (W) 9 seasons (1994-2003)
112 Vince deGrandpre, Rugby (W) 14 seasons (1998-2011)
102 Gord Gow, Soccer (W) 11 seasons (1976-86)
*coaches currently active with McGill
