MONTREAL – Victoria Iannotti of St. Laurent, Que., scored a game-high 18 points but it was insufficient as McGill was upset 3-1 by a feisty Sherbrooke side in women’s volleyball at Love Competition Hall, Sunday. The visiting Vert & Or won by set scores of 25-22, 25-23, 20-25 and 25-18.
With one game remaining on the schedule, the result dashed McGill’s hopes of catching first-place UQAM (13-4), which clinched the regular season pennant. The Martlets currently sit second in the seven-team RSEQ conference with an 11-6 record.
The victory put Sherbrooke (9-8) in the driver’s seat for the fourth and final playoff berth, two points ahead of fifth-place Laval (8-9), which was upset 3-0 in a shocker by sixth-place Ottawa (5-12).
“We have to give full credit to Sherbrooke, they played like they could not lose today,” said McGill head coach Rachèle Béliveau. “They were fighting for everything and when they put their smaller players in on defence, they were all over the place.”
The Vert & Or had a slight margin in kills (43-42), aces (9-6) and digs (63-56), while McGill had the edge in stuff blocks (14-11) and kill efficiency (12.2 percent compared to Sherbrooke’s 10.9).
“We have a very balanced league this season and anyone can beat any team,” added Béliveau. “All the games are unpredictable, so you have to play at 100 per cent. If you only play at 85 or 90 per cent and the other team is on their game, you may not win. That said, we didn’t play that bad today and it was an even match. there were just a couple of sequences where we were unable to side-out, one in the first set and one in the last.”
Iannotti tallied her points on 14 kills, one service aces two stuff blocks and a pair of assisted blocks. She also had three digs and a pair of assists.
Sherbrooke had four players reach double-digits in scoring with Gabrielle Minier (15), Gabriella Grenier (14), Jael-Esther Telfort (11.5) and Jade Barrette (10).
McGill is two points ahead of the Montreal Carabins (10-6), who have a game in hand and could still catch McGill if they win their final two matches. The Carabins were on a bye week and will conclude their schedule with a road game at Sherbrooke (9-8) and a home rendezvous against Laval (8-9).
Should McGill and Montreal end up tied in the standings, the Martlets hold the head-to-head tie-breaker with a 3-0 record. If Montreal loses one of their two remaining contests, the Martlets would be assured of finishing higher.
McGill (11-6) can also clinch second place with a win over UQAM (13-4) in the season finale at Love Competition Hall on Sunday (Feb. 17) at 6:30 p.m. The Martlets will be honouring two seniors who are expected to graduate, in a pre-game ceremony, namely Catherine Vercheval, an international development studies major from Ste. Julie, Que., and Meaghan Smith, a cognitive science major from Vancouver, B.C.