MONTREAL --
Claire Vercheval of St. Julie, Que., scored a game-high 19 points as No.6 McGill University swept Laval 3-0 to clinch the RSEQ women's volleyball regular season pennant on Seniors Night at Love Competition Hall, Friday. The set scores were 25-16, 25-15 and 25-23.
McGill, which improved to 15-3 with two games remaining, assured themselves of their second-ever finish atop the Quebec league standings and their first since 2002. Their only previous pennant was 17 years ago, when they eked out an 8-7 record in a tightly-contested four-team pennant race.
McGill, which registered a 2.04 passing ratio, dominated the key statistics, with a 37-26 edge in kills, a 60-49 margin in digs, an 11-2 difference in stuff blocks and an 8-3 advantage in service aces.
"Finishing first is a good accomplishment and we should be proud. We played a great game today and are showing more confidence," said
Rachele Beliveau, in her 28th season as head coach at McGill. "Our minimum standard for consistency has improved. We've better on defence and our transition game is much faster, which makes it difficult for our opponents to react. We now expect to play at a high level every game."
Vercheval, a 6-foot-1 power-hitter, earned her points with 13 kills, a pair of aces, and four blocks. She also chipped in an impressive 15 digs and had a 2.08 passing ratio.
Matte De Grasse, tallied 13 points on the strength of seven kills and six aces. The 5-foot-10 senior also added eight digs.
Freshman
Charlene Robitaille of Mont St. Gregoire, Que., recorded 10.5 points with nine kills and 1.5 blocks. Sophomore
Andreanne Tremblay, the starting setter from Longueuil, Que., posted a game-high 26 assists.
Leading the pack for the Rouge et Or was
Claudia Gauthier, a third-year law student from Saguenay, Que., with 8.5 points.
The victory was McGill's third straight win over Laval after losing the first meeting 3-0 in the provincial capital on Nov. 4.
The soiree was capped by an emotional post-game ceremony at centre court, where the Martlets honoured their two graduating veterans who were playing their final regular season home games of their collegiate careers:
Emilie Matte De Grasse, a fifth-year physical education senior from Montreal, and
Ariane Lavoie-Boutin, a mechanical engineering senior from La Prairie, Que.
Both teams return to the court on Feb. 15, when Montreal (11-6) hosts Laval (10-8) and the Martlets (15-3) travel to Sherbrooke (5-11) for a 6 p.m start at Pavillon Univestrie. Then McGill will close out the campaign at UQAM on Feb. 17. The playoffs are slated to begin Feb. 22.
FACES IN THE CROWD: Among those spotted in attendance was Toronto Maple Leafs head coach
Mike Babcock. The McGill physical education graduate, who skated for the hockey Redmen from 1983 to 1987, had just come down to the gym for a surprise visit after attending the hockey Martlets practice at McConnell Arena. His Leafs are in town to play the Habs on Saturday night... MARTLET MURMURS:
Elisabeth Perreault, a third-year middle-blocker, was back in the lineup but saw limited duty... She has missed 16 of the team's 18 league games with a back injury.
2018-19 RSEQ Women's Volleyball Standings
(20 game schedule, top four teams qualify for post-season)
| 1 |
c-McGill |
18 |
15 |
3 |
47 |
21 |
1590 |
1404 |
0.833 |
0.0 |
30 |
| 2 |
x-Montréal |
17 |
11 |
6 |
38 |
27 |
1440 |
1378 |
0.647 |
3.5 |
22 |
| 3 |
x-Laval |
18 |
10 |
8 |
36 |
31 |
1481 |
1507 |
0.556 |
5.0 |
20 |
| 4 |
UQAM |
17 |
9 |
8 |
37 |
33 |
1587 |
1477 |
0.529 |
5.5 |
18 |
| 5 |
Sherbrooke |
16 |
5 |
11 |
28 |
39 |
1407 |
1478 |
0.313 |
9.0 |
10 |
| 6 |
Ottawa |
16 |
1 |
15 |
12 |
47 |
1168 |
1429 |
0.063 |
13.0 |
2 |
c-clinched division title
y-clinched a playoff berth
