TORONTO --  Elisabeth Perrault of Laval, Que., scored 15 points on offence and contributed 22 digs on defence as the unranked McGill women's volleyball team upset No.2 ranked Ryerson 3-1, Friday, to open the National Invitational Tournament, hosted by U of T at the Goldring Centre.

The set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 16-25 and 25-18.

It was only the third loss of the season for the OUA East-leading Rams, who tumbled to 11-3 overall. The Martlets improved to 13-11 overall.

McGill had the upper-hand in digs (119-116), kills (44-43), aces (6-5) and blocks (12-7).

"Ryerson is known for their consistency but they made a number of errors today and we didn't make many mistakes," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "We had good ball control and were very consistent. We didn't have many highs and lows. We played well and were able to control their best hitters.

"The OUA teams seem to have a different style than we do in the Quebec conference and I think that it was tougher for them to adjust to our game. They don't have a lot of variation in the depth of the court. They hit high and hard but rarely vary their distances from the net. They do not seem to play as much short and long ball variations, a style that is more common with the Quebec teams."

Perrault, a 5-foot-10 power-hitter, registered a dozen kills, one service ace and a pair of stuff blocks. The  management senior was also credited with one assist. She was one of three McGill players to reach double digits in scoring.

Myriam Robitaille, a fifth-year senior from Terrebonne, Que.,  also contributed 15 points, on the strength of eight kills, three aces, a pair of blocks and four assisted blocks.

Rookie Victoria Iannotti, a 5-foot-8 software engineering freshman from St. Laurent, Que., had nine kills, three aces, two blocks and 12 digs. Iannotti was starting for senior power-hitter Claire Vercheval, who was injured in a post-Christmas practice last week as the team was preparing for this tourney.

Setter Arianne Tremblay posted a game-high 33 assists to go along with five kills, one ace, 13 digs and an assisted block.

Leading the offence for the Rams was Cailin Wark, a senior from Georgetown, Ont., with 16.5 points.

McGill (13-11) plays McMaster (11-13) on Saturday at 6 p.m.

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