MONTREAL – Brook Brown of Clearwater, Fla., had a team-leading 10 kills to pace the McGill women's volleyball team en route to a 3-0 sweep over UQTR in league play at Love Competition hall, Sunday. Victory wasn't as easy as it appeared, however, with set scores of 25-22, 25-20 and 25-21.

The Martlets improved to 5-2 to remain first in the RSEQ league standings, two points ahead of Sherbrooke (4-1), which holds two games in hand. The rivals will cross paths next weekend in the Eastern Townships.

The teams were evenly matched in both kills (39-39) and aces (5-5). McGill had a 5-2 edge in stuff blocks, while UQTR held a 57-45 advantage in digs. The key difference maker was in hitting percentage, where McGill made 27.9 per cent of their kills, while the Patriotes connected on only 14.8.

"UQTR is a good fighting team with strong defence and we had to be patient, especially in the first set, because a lot of the balls (hit over the net) were coming back," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "We were able to stay calm and maintain control of the game. The biggest difference was the number of errors they made on their attempted kills. But they are the type of team that goes for all or nothing. They go for the big kill all the time, which is a more risky style."

It was McGill's ninth consecutive lifetime win against the nubile Patriotes, who rejoined the Quebec league this year after withdrawing in 2007.

Beliveau added that her game plan was to rotate players in and out, giving more playing time to the younger players because she expected the Patriotes to focus on stopping McGill's key power-hitters.

Brown, a six-foot power-hiitter, connected on 10 of her 12 kill attempts. The 19-year-old biology sophomore also added a pair of digs and had a solid 2.21 passing ratio (out of three).

"We utilized different players to try and change momentum," Beliveau said. "One of those was  Brown, who passed the ball very well. She played a good game, both defensively and offensively. She's starting to show some confidence out there and playing with more ease."

Other leading scorers for the Martlets included Victoria iannotti (9.5 pts), Charlene Robitaille (8.5), Meaghan Smith (7.5), Andreanne Tremblay (6.5) and Clara Poire (6).

Robitaille, who had six kills, one ace and 1.5 blocks, showcased a dominating performance on defence with a season-high 16 digs.

Senior Andreanne Tremblay, a medical student from Longueuil, Que., earned the start at setter and was credited with 24 assists, to go along with five kills, one ace, nine digs and an assisted block. Based on her academic schedule in a demanding faculty, she rotates into the starting lineup with sophomore setter Audrey Trottier.

"We have two good setters and we need to make sure that both are ready to start so that Audrey can play with confidence when Andreanne has conflicts with her academic workload in medicine," explained Beliveau.

The Pats had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by Alissa Veilleux and Laurence Flamand with 13 points apiece, while teammate Ophelie Pages added 10 points.

McGill travels to Sherbrooke on Nov. 13 to battle the Vert & Or in a first-place showdown, slated to tip-off at 6 p.m. Meanwhile, UQTR (1-4) is off until Nov. 14 when they will host Laval (3-2).

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