CHICOUTIMI, QUE – Charlene Robitaille of St. Jean, Que., scored a game-high 16.5 points as McGill cruised to a 3-0 sweep over the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, Friday, at the Pavillon sportif de l’UQAC. The set scores were 25-6, 25-12 and 25-12.
This was McGill’s second win in as many meetings with the Inuk, a new expansion team, which dropped to 0-16 in the RSEQ conference.
The Martlets posted a single-game record .557 hitting percentage with 41 kills and only two errors on 70 kill attempts. It surpassed the team’s previous high of .507 against UQTR on Nov. 6, 2022. A smaller Inuk squad was no match, registering a feeble .023 hitting percentage with 22 kills and a whopping 20 errors on 87 attempts.
“We played really well today,” said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, who was coy about a new-look offence. “I wanted to implement a new formation in our system of play. Our goal today was to integrate what we’ve been practicing this semester. I pushed the team to play that system today and it took two sets before we looked comfortable with the new style.”
The Martlets led significantly in most key statistical areas, including kills (41-22), aces (6-1), digs (35-23) and total blocks (5-0).
Robitaille was credited with a dozen kills, a pair of service aces and 2.5 stuff blocks, to go along with eight digs.
Two of her teammates also reached double digit scoring, with Victoria Iannotti tallying 13 points and Clara Poire collecting 10.5.
“Everybody was hitting well today and that means that the ball distribution from our setter was very good,” said Beliveau.
Audrey Trottier, the starting setter, registered 36 assists, along with five digs and an assisted block.
Elodie Rousselle and Carannante Lena led the Inuk with six points apiece.
McGill improved to 10-5 in regular season play and moved into a four-way tie for second place in the eight-team Quebec-based league, four points behind division-leading Montreal (12-3). With just six contests remaining before playoffs, the Martlets could finish anywhere from first to sixth place. McGill will close out their three-game series against UQAC on Saturday (Jan. 27) at 10 a.m.
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