KINGSTON, Ont. (Feb. 23, 2024) – Queen’s Women’s Volleyball opened their OUA Quigley Cup Playoffs with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-20) win over the Nipissing Lakers in their quarterfinals matchup Friday night at the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).
The Gaels held comfortable leads in the first and third set, and used a big comeback midway through the set to take the second set.
Hannah Duchesneau (Sharon, Ont.) had a strong game offensively for the Gaels, finishing with a game-high 17 kills and .652 hitting percentage in the win.
Duchesneau said after the game it was a total team effort getting the win.
“We played with amazing grit. We played with a great fight,” Duchesneau said. “It was do or die and I think our team went out there, said we’re going to execute on the job, and we got the job done. When we were down, we stay composed and pushed through the adversity we were facing. We’ve practised this. We’ve worked on it so hard and it was really nice to see it be applied because it really helped us win today.”
Shea Baker (Vancouver, B.C.) led all players with 30 assists in the win while Aimee Lemire (Paris, Ont.) had a game-high seven digs.
Lauren Mellon (Oakville, Ont.) also finished with a strong performance, finishing the game with four blocks and four aces.
“I give Nipissing a lot of credit,” Queen’s Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Ryan Ratushniak said. “They played well and they pushed us. As a result, we had to elevate our game. It was a good team effort.
“This is another season almost. We want to play the game the right way and we definitely did that today. We’re in a great place moving forward and we just want to keep up that attitude and approach.”
With the win, the No. 2 seed Gaels advanced to the OUA Quigley Cup semifinals, and will play host to the winner of Saturday’s matchup between the No. 3 McMaster Marauders and No. 6 Guelph Gryphons. Ratushniak and Duchesneau said the team will focus on having a strong week of preparation ahead of the semifinals.
“We talked about doing a lot of the little things well. In the next couple days really focusing on academics and staying on top of that so we can feel good heading into next weekend. Hydrating, eating well, sleeping well, all the little things that will help us in our performance. We talked about all those aspects away from the on court stuff. If we take care of all of that, then we’ll be in a good place on court.”
“Making sure that our recovery is top notch and making sure that we stay on top of school. Keep connecting as a team and keep playing our hearts out in practice because I think what we’re seeing at practice really translates into our game.”
The semifinal matchup will be played Friday. March 1 at 6 p.m. at the ARC. Tickets for the game can be purchased at the ARC on gameday or online on the Queen’s Gaels Tickets Website.
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