MONTREAL – Clara Poire and Victoria Iannotti each scored 15 points as McGill swept the UQAM Citadins 3-0 in women's volleyball, Friday, at Love Competition Hall. The set scores were 26-24, 25-18 and 25-20.
 
McGill (4-2) moved into sole possession of first place in the seven-team RSEQ conference, two points ahead of Sherbrooke and Laval, who are both 3-1 and hold two games in hand.

Poire, a 6-foot-2, right-side hitter from Blainville, Que., earned her points on the strength of 11 kills and four service aces. The kinesiology junior added seven digs, one assist and registered a lofty 2.75 passing average (out of 3) on eight balls handled.

"Clara served really well today. She improves every day and I was really impressed with her play in the back-court," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "We don't see a 2.75 on serve receive very often."

Iannotti, a third-year power-hitter from St. Laurent, Que., racked up a game-high dozen kills, with one ace, two blocks three digs and one assist.

Teammate Charlene Robitaille of St. Jean, Que., contributed 8.5 points, eight of them on kills and a team-high eight digs.

McGill setter Audrey Trottier, a sophomore from Longueuil, Que., posted a game-high 28 assists, to go along with two kills, a pair of aces, two blocks and an identical total of digs.

The Martlets held a 37-32 advantage in kills and a 10-6 margin in aces, while UQAM had the upper hand in both blocks (6-5) and digs (38-29).

"We were hitting quite well and quite frankly, I was a little surprised," Beliveau noted. "UQAM played outstanding defence in the first set and they were digging everything but we kept our focus on the game. It was one of the few tight sets that we have won this year, including the preseason games. We were able to hold it and finish with a win, which gave us the momentum for the second set. We talked about that after last weekend, about the importance of winning the close sets."

Leading the scoring parade for the Citadins was Gabrielle Archambault and Sarah-Jade Goulet with 10 points apiece.

Both teams resume their schedule on Sunday (Nov. 7). McGill (4-2) hosts UQTR (1-3), the league's newest franchise, in a 1 p.m. tip-off at Love Competition Hall, while UQAM (2-2)  will host Ottawa (0-3) at 2 p.m.
 
BOXSCORE
 
RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
 
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012 (Off.)
m.athletics.mcgill.ca (mobile website)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca