MONTREAL -- Florence Viens scored a game-high 19 points as the visiting Sherbrooke Vert & Or upended McGill 3-1 in women's volleyball at Love Competition Hall, Friday. The set scores were 25-23, 25-17, 19-25 and 25-22.

McGill had a chance to tie the fourth set at 23-23 but a missed serve proved costly, put the visitors ahead 24-22 and the Martlets were hand-cuffed.

It was Sherbrooke's fifth straight win -- and third consecutive over McGill -- since starting the campaign with three losses. The result was a costly setback for the Martlets, who dropped to 4-6 and sit fifth in the six-team Quebec conference. McGill now finds themselves two points in arrears of the Vert & Or, who currently sit in the final playoff berth with two games in hand. The long-time rivals only have a single confrontation remaining -- one that may decide the final playoff spot -- in the season finale on Valentine's Day at Sherbrooke.

"Sherbrooke is playing well, they're a good defensive team and don't make a lot of mistakes," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "They bring a good variation of shots, nothing spectacular but their play is consistent and with a good rhythm. They go short, then long and everything seems to be working for them."

"We had some good moments but we need to be more confident in crucial times,  take more risks and try to change the momentum. We had a much better start than usual, leading most of the way in the first set, almost until the end. But then the momentum went the other way."

The Vert & Or had a huge 50-36 margin in kills and that seemed to be the biggest difference. They also had a slight advantage in service aces (9-8), digs (56-52) and assists (48-35). McGill held an 8-5 edge in stuff blocks.

Veteran power-hitter Claire Vercheval of Ste. Julie, Que., paced the Martlets with 14.5 points, on the strength of 11 kills, a pair of aces and 1.5 blocks. The 22-year-old physical education senior added four digs and two assists.

Freshman Victoria Iannotti, a 5-foot-9 power-hitter from Montreal, came off the bench and proved to be McGill's second-leading scorer with 10.5 points. The 20-year-old software engineering major had eight kills, two aces and 1.5 blocks, to go along with three digs and an assist.

Sherbrooke (5-3) plays at division-leading UQAM (6-3) on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 24).

Meanwhile, the Martlets (4-6), who started the season with high hopes for a repeat of their regular season pennant won last spring, will get one more chance before the exam break to re-ignite the magic. They will host the Montreal Carabins (6-3) in a critical game on Friday, Nov. 29, looking to avenge a 3-1 loss in the first meeting on Oct. 25.

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS


.