RSEQ VOLLEYBALL SEMIFINALS (GM-2): Sherbrooke rallies from two-set deficit to eliminate Martlets

SHERBROOKE – The McGill women’s volleyball team appeared to be in total control of its destiny after taking the first two sets, 25-21 and 25-20, against Sherbrooke on Saturday, then watched in horror as the Vert & Or rallied to win the next three, 28-26, 25-22 and 15-6.
 
Combined with Sherbrooke’s 3-2 victory in Game 1 on Friday, the two-game RSEQ semifinal series sweep was an abrupt end to a promising season for the Martlets, who finished with a stellar 19-9 record overall, including a hard-fought 15-6 second-place finish in the RSEQ conference.
 
“We played much better than on Friday (Game 1 of the series) but that third set today was crucial and gave them the momentum,” said Rachèle Béliveau, who owns a career record of 718-567-2 overall in 33 years (32 seasons) as head coach at McGill. “Sherbrooke played well and gained confidence after they won the third set. Both sides had some great rallies and the crowd was really loud after the third set. It was tough to accept but I was still pleased with our effort.”
 
There was little to choose from between the teams. McGill had a statistical edge in service aces (8-2) and stuff blocks (14-12), while Sherbrooke had a slight margin in kills (59-54), assists (58-54) and digs (76-73). The Vert & Or also had a small advantage in hitting efficiency, connecting on 19.6 per cent compared to McGill’s 16.0 per cent.
 
Béliveau used a lot more substitutions that normal, trying to break Sherbrooke’s momentum and find a solution to the massive problem of playing without Victoria Iannotti, an all-star power-hitter who was unable to start for the third straight game due after being diagnosed with pneumonia. She was on the bench and put into action very briefly in the second set, registering a kill on her only play and then was subbed out. In the fifth set, she subbed back in for the final two points of the game. It was a sad end to a noble and brilliant career in a McGill uniform for the fifth-year software engineering senior from St. Laurent, Que.
 
Clara Poiré paced the Martlets with a game-high 18.5 points on 13 kills, four aces and three assisted blocks. She also had a dozen digs. Other leading scorers for the Martlets included Charlene Robitaille (15 pts, 18 digs), Brook Brown (15 pts) and Rachel Leduc (14 pts).
 
Four Sherbrooke players reached double digits, including Jael-Esther Telfort (16), Britanie Maranda (16), Alissa Veilleux (15) and Madeleine Ouellette (14.5).
 
The was the final game in a McGill uniform for 10 graduating seniors, the team’s largest ever departing class. The group includes co-captains Charlène Robitaille and Victoria Iannotti, in addition to Clara Poiré, Audrey Trottier, Melanie Dormann, Meaghan Smith, Brook Brown, Olivia Krishnan, Rio Pesochin and Masha Solaja.  

“They should be very proud of their achievements over the last three years, after returning from the pandemic,” said Béliveau. “They guided the team to our first-ever conference championship and back-to-back appearances at the Nationals. We were hoping for a third in a row this season but we were really unfortunate with Victoria being sick for the last three games. This group was an exceptional one.”

BOXSCORE

U SPORTS LEADERBOARD
 
HOW McGILL STATS RANK NATIONALLY

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS
 
SOURCE
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-983-7012 (cell.)
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca