Five Queen’s Women’s Volleyball players earn OUA All-Star recognition

KINGSTON, Ont. (March 15, 2022) – Five Queen’s Women’s Volleyball players earned OUA All-Star recognition for the 2021-22 season, including Arielle Palermo and Lauryn Colpitts, who were named First Team OUA East Division All-Stars, Vivian Zanutel and Mary Stewart, who were named Second Team OUA East Division All-Stars, and Stewart and Hannah Duchesneau, who were named to the OUA East Division All-Rookie Team.

The OUA announced this season’s All-Stars and major award winners on Tuesday. See the full list here.

“Our team culture is based on hard work, being competitive and being very supportive of every person on our team,” said Head Coach Ryan Ratushniak. “Therefore, our team is very proud of all the individuals who have been recognized as OUA All-Stars. This recognition reflects our team culture and the hard work everyone has put in to make this possible.”

Palermo (Burlington, Ont.) led the Gaels in kills with 83 (2.86 per set) and points with 93.5. She was also third on the team in digs with 56 and recorded eight service aces.

Palermo was named to the OUA All-Rookie team in her first year at Queen’s in 2018-19 and was an OUA East Division All-Star in 2019-20. That year she led the OUA in service aces per set at 0.81 and was also fourth in total kills with 225.

Palermo also took part in the 2021 Women’s NextGen National Team program ahead of this season.

Colpitts (Fredericton, N.B.), a setter, led the Gaels with 222 assists and was sixth in the OUA at 8.22 assists per set. She also recorded 41 digs, 10 blocks, five kills, and three service aces.

Zanutel (Toronto, Ont.) followed up her 2019-20 season when she was named an OUA East Division All-Rookie with a Second Team All-Star nod at the Libero position. She finished her second season with the Gaels with a team-high 80 digs while adding 18 assists.

Zanutel totalled 127 digs in 10 games in her rookie season.

In her first season with the Gaels, Stewart (Uxbridge, Ont.) was named both an East Division Second Team All-Star and All-Rookie. The Outside was second on the team behind only Palermo with 93 points and 70 kills (2.80 per set). Stewart also finished the regular season with 59 digs, 10 blocks, and a team-high 16 service aces.

Stewart, who joined the Gaels ahead of the cancelled 2020-21 season, was a 2020 Youth and Junior Team Virtual Training Invitee for Team Canada.

Duchesneau (Sharon, Ont.) was fifth on the Gaels in points (51.0) and kills (39) this season. The Outside also recorded 19 digs, 11 blocks, five assists, and five service aces in the regular season.

Duchesneau was also part of Team Canada’s 2020 Youth and Junior Team Virtual Training program alongside Stewart, and the 2021 Women’s NextGen National Team program alongside Palermo.

The Gaels finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and second in the OUA East. They opened the OUA Playoffs with a 3-0 win over the York Lions and will take on the Toronto Varsity Blues in the OUA East Final Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Toronto, Ont.