No. 3 Badgers fall short in five-set battle with No. 4 Gaels

The Brock Badgers women’s volleyball team’s perfect start to the season ended on Sunday, Nov. 19 in Kingston as they fell 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 18-25, 11-15) to the nationally ranked Queen’s Gaels.  

Sadie Dick led the Badgers with 19 points off 14 kills, four blocks and one ace while Aleiah Torres had an outstanding 19 digs. Fifth-year setter Sara Rohr dished out 34 assists.  

Meera Sayal’s service ace early in the opening set helped the Badgers create a 5-2 lead.  Consecutive kills from third-year outside hitter Madison Chimienti combined with a Queen’s attack error saw Brock increase their points advantage to seven, with the scoreline showing 9-2.  

The Gaels pulled themselves back into the set but kills from Dick helped the Badgers earn a 22-18 lead. A service error from Queen’s closed out the first set as the Badgers won it 25-21. Brock had a hitting percentage of .333 in the opening set win. 

The second set saw Queen’s take a big lead early on, prompting a Badgers timeout.  An ace from middle Emma Baruchelli cut the Gaels lead down to five in the middle of the set. Despite reducing a 10-point lead down to just five, the Badgers lost the second set to Queen’s 25-20.  

After trading points in the third set, a kill from Chimienti prompted an 8-2 run from the Badgers to make the score 13-7.  Madison Tuck’s first kill of the set was an important one as it increased the Badgers lead to five late in the set. Back-to-back kills from Dick helped the Badgers win the third set in commanding fashion 25-17.

The Gaels opened the fourth set with a 5-1 lead but kills from Gigi Markotic and Dick brought the Badgers back within three. First-year outside hitter Daryan Chadwick’s first kill of the game cut the Gaels lead down to two but a late surge from Queen’s saw them win the fourth set 25-18. 

In the fifth set, a strong fight saw the Badgers try to claw into Queen’s six-point lead. The Gaels were undeterred, keeping their momentum and winning the fifth and final set 15-11.  

Up next, the No. 3 Brock Badgers (5-1) return to Bob Davis Gymnasium as they host the Lakehead Thunderwolves (1-3) on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m.