VOLLEYBALL (w): McGill upsets Sherbrooke in opener, on verge of winning first-ever RSEQ championship

SHERBROOKE – Hours after learning that she was voted Quebec university volleyball player of the year, Charlene Robitaille teamed up with newly-minted all-star Victoria Iannotti – each scoring a game-high 12.5 points – as visiting McGill upset top-seeded Sherbrooke 3-1, Friday, to win the opening game of a best-of-three series for the RSEQ women’s volleyball championship.

The set scores were 25-20, 25-16, 15-25 and 25-19 before a crowd of 475 at the Centre Sportif. It was the first time that McGill had beaten Sherbrooke this season after being swept in the three previous confrontations, including a preseason rendezvous.

The second-seeded Martlets are now poised to win their first-ever Quebec league title and they have a chance to accomplish that feat on home turf in Game 2, Saturday night with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Love Competition Hall, located inside the Sir Arthur Currie Gym. Tickets are only available online.

If a rubber match is needed, it will be played back in Sherbrooke on Sunday at 3 p.m. At stake is a berth at the U SPORTS Final Eight national championship in Calgary, Mar. 25-27.

The result marked only the sixth playoff victory for McGill in 14 lifetime post-season meetings with Sherbrooke, which breaks down to an identical 3-4 record in both home and away games against the Vert & Or.

“We had a good game plan and stuck with it,” said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, who was coaching against her alma mater in a historic meeting which marked the first time that women were head coaches of both teams in the Quebec final. “Having a good solid start really helped our confidence. Our second set was pretty good as well but Sherbrooke started hitting well in the third and the momentum shifted. We managed to bounce back very well in the fourth.”

“Their style forced us to play differently, something that we don’t usually do too often but this was what we had to do to beat them. However one match is not the series, so we have to stay focussed and come back harder in Game 2. Sherbrooke is a very good, powerful team and they will make some adjustments, so we have to be ready to adjust as well.”

Robitaille, a 23-year-old nutritional science senior from St. Jean sur Richelieu, Que., tallied her points on five kills, a game-high four service aces, and seven assisted stuff blocks. The six-foot middle blocker, who also plays on the back row, collected 10 digs on defence.

Iannotti, a 5-foot-9 power-hitter from St. Laurent, Que., led all players with a dozen kills and an assisted block, in addition to three digs.

The only other member of the Martlets to reach double digits in scoring was middle blocker Alyson Laberge of Mercier, Que., who delivered another stellar performance while filling in for injured starter Meaghan Smith. Laberge, an industrial relations junior, scored 10.5 points on nine kills and 1.5 blocks. She also had four digs.

Maude Frechette and Marianne Boucher led Sherbrooke with 12.5 and 11.5 points, respectively. Frechette and McGill’s Catherine Vercheval were both credited with a game-high 19 digs.

Both setters had a busy soiree, with Sherbrooke’s Emma Bergeron registering 41 assists, while McGill’s Audrey Trottier had 31.

The statistics show that there wasn’t much to choose between the two sides. Sherbrooke had a 65-61 edge in digs and a 48-40 margin in kills, while McGill led in service aces (8-5) and stuff blocks (9-8).

BOXSCORE

RSEQ STATS & STANDINGS

SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
www.mcgillathletics.ca
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca