VOLLEYBALL (w): Martlets sprint past Gee-Gees, clinch second place on Seniors Night

MONTREAL — Victoria Iannotti of St. Laurent, Que., scored a game-high 14 points as McGill swept visiting Ottawa 3-0 to conclude the regular season, Friday.

The set scores were 25-19, 25-15 and 25-11 at Love Competition Hall.

It was the team’s fourth consecutive victory and the result improved McGill’s record to 9-3 and clinched second place in the seven-team RSEQ conference. The Martlets will host third-place UQAM (8-4) in a best-of-three semifinal opener on Friday, March 4.

“We played a solid offensive game at the net,” said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, whose troops had the upper hand in kills (38-20), aces (7-5) and stuff blocks (3-2). “Our offence is spread over multiple hitters and that makes a big difference in trying to defend against us. We’re generally a good passing team but today I wasn’t happy with our service receive side of the game. Other than that, it was a good team effort as everyone contributed at different times over the three sets.”

Iannotti, a 5-foot-9 power-hitter, registered a team-leading 11 kills, a pair of service aces and one block, along with six digs. The software engineering junior ended up leading the league in both points and kills, averaging 3.77 and 3.17 per set, respectively. The last McGill player to lead the RSEQ in both categories was Claire Vercheval in 2019-20

Charlene Robitaille of St. Jean, Que., and Clara Poire of Blainville, Que., each added eight points in the win for McGill. Catherine Vercheval was credited with a game-high 10 digs and setter Andreanne Tremblay collected a game-high 20 assists.

Tremblay, who hails from Longueuil, Que., and Montrealer Salome Deslauriers-Brouillard, were both honoured after the game as the team’s only graduating seniors.

Tremblay is a second-year medical student who had previously graduated in 2020 with a degree in physical therapy. Deslauriers-Brouillard, who earned a science degree last year, is working on a master’s in occupational therapy.

Tristan Peterson, a junior from Caledon, Ont., paced the Gee-Gees with seven points, each scored on kills.

McGill finished with an identical record to Sherbrooke (9-3) but the Vert & Or held the tie-breaker by virtue of a 2-0 record against the Martlets. McGill would have finished first in a three-way tie but UQAM (8-4) dropped to third place after being upset by the Montreal Carabins (6-6) on Friday. Laval, which holds a 7-4 record with one to play, grabbed the final playoff berth and will open their semifinal series on the road against Sherbrooke.

Ottawa, which sits sixth with a 1-10 record, wil close out their season by hosting Laval on Sunday (Feb. 27). The Gee-Gees need a win to finish ahead of UQTR (1-11) as the fifth and sixth-place teams will advance to a new RSEQ bronze medal series with the losers of the two semifinal rounds. This consolation round was added to make up for some of the games that were lost in this pandemic shortened season.

MARTLET MURMURS: Senior Meaghan Smith, the starting middle blocker from Vancouver, B.C., who suffered a lower-body injury late in last week’s win at UQAM, was kept out of the lineup and her status is still being evaluated on a day-by-day basis…. Three Martlets who graduated last year and didn’t have the opportunity to be feted in front of the home crowd, will have their day during McGill’s final round of the playoffs, over the March 11-13 weekend. The trio in question include Claire Vercheval, Rowan Fletcher and Elisabeth Perrault.

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

BOXSCORE

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