MONTREAL – Co-captain Charlene Robitaille of St. Jean, Que., scored a game-high 17 points as the McGill women's volleyball team swept UQAM 3-0 in the deciding game of an RSEQ best-of-three semifinal series at Love Competition Hall, Saturday. It marked the second straight playoff win for the second-seeded Martlets, who won by set scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 27-25.

McGill advances to the league championship series, another best-of-three affair, against top-seeded Sherbrooke, beginning Friday on the road. Only one Quebec team will advance to the U SPORTS Final Eight in Calgary this year.

Playing a grueling third game in as many days took its toll on these equally balanced teams. The evidence of this was on display in the dig totals, where McGill had a scant 53-52 edge, compared to Game 2 of the series on Saturday, when both teams racked up a spectacular 105 digs apiece.

"We played quite well overall and I was happy that it was over in three sets," said a relieved McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, a former Canadian Olympian at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. "We pushed really hard in that last set because we wanted to avoid going to four or five sets. We respect UQAM a lot and know that they are a tough team with a lot of fight, so we couldn't afford to be passive.

"We managed to stay calm and play our game. We stressed to our group that it was really about execution. Both teams were going to fight hard and we had to focus on doing what we do well. That's very important in our game. There's going to be a lot of intensity but there are also key moments when you have to be in control of your emotions. If you are in control, you have good execution, otherwise the execution suffers."

Robitaille, a six-foot senior who played primarily as a middle blocker over her first four seasons, has made a smooth transition to the back and front rows this season. The nutritional science major registered a team-leading dozen kills, with four service aces and one stuff block. She also shone on defence with a team-high 12 digs.

"Charlene was very aggressive on offence today and very patient on defence Beliveau," said. "This year she has played both front and back row for the first time, something that she did not really do at the CEGEP level. I really liked the way she bounced back after (Game 1 on) Friday. She was definitely our most all-around consistent player who melded well in Game 2 and was very solid again today."

Two of her teammates also reached double figures, with starters Alyson Laberge, a junior middle blocker from Mercier, Que., and  sophomore power-hitter Melanie Dormann of Ottawa, each posting 10 points, with nine and eight kills, respectively.

"We came with a slightly different approach after something that we saw on video yesterday," Beliveau noted. "Laberge responded well to what we asked and that really helped us to counter UQAM's game plan."

McGill setter Audrey Trottier of Longueuil, Que., had a stellar outing with a game-high 36 assists. The kinesiology sophomore added one kill, an ace and one dig.

Leading the UQAM offence were the usual suspects, namely Gabrielle Morissette (14 pts), Sabrina Mayer (13) and Laura Cote-Colin (10).

The Martlets also had a slight upper-hand in kills (44-43), aces (8-5) and stuff blocks (3-2).

McGill, which improved to 12-5 overall, will now have only three days to prepare for the upcoming series against top-seeded Sherbrooke. Both teams produced an identical 9-3 record in the regular season and each won their semifinal series 2-1. The Vert & Or won all three meetings with McGill, including a 3-2 decision in preseason play on Oct. 9, followed by a 3-1 conquest at Love Competition Hall on Oct. 22 and a 3-1 victory at the Pavillon Univestrie on Nov. 12.

UQAM's season is not over as they will be seeded at the top in a four-team RSEQ consolation round for the bronze medal, a new twist in the league this year to make up for some lost games due to the pandemic. The Citadins will confront fourth-seeded Ottawa in one semifinal, while No.2  Laval takes on No.3 Montréal. The consolation round winners will advance to the bronze medal round.

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca