LAVAL, QUE – Anica Pineault racked up 32 points on the strength of 27 kills as UQAM halted McGill’s long win streak en route to a key 3-1 women’s volleyball victory before a boisterous crowd at Love Competition Hall, on Super Bowl Sunday. The visitors won by set scores of 25-16, 18-25, 25-20 and 25-23.
In one fell swoop, McGill’s opening set loss snapped both, the team’s record-tying eight-game win streak and a school record 19 consecutive sets won.
More importantly, the result gave UQAM the head-to-head tie-breaker and put the Citadins in the driver’s seat for the fourth and final playoff berth in the eight-team RSEQ conference standings.
With one game remaining in the regular season, McGill sits precariously perched in fourth place with a 12-8 record. But UQAM (11-8) is breathing down their necks, two points behind with a game in hand. Both teams have to confront the division leading Montreal Carabins (18-1), virtually a must-win affair for McGill because UQAM also has winless ETS (0-19) on their schedule.
That said, there is a distinct possibility of a three-way tie with Laval (12-7).
“It was a tough one, UQAM played very well, especially their top two players,” admitted McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau, who noted that her troops had a challenging time to keep momentum. “It was a tight game in each set but whenever we got the lead, they seemed to come back. There was one key moment when we fought back but not enough to close it in our favour. We couldn’t close the game today and they did that better than us. Every time that we seemed to gain momentum, we made some costly mistakes that shifted the momentum back in their favour.”
The aforementioned Pineault was one of three Citadins to reach double figures, along with Jade Genereux (17.5 points) and Justine Dubreuil (11).
For McGill, it was the usual suspects at the top of the scoring parade. Elyssa Lajmi registered 13 kills and 15.5 points, while Rachel Leduc has 13 points and Emilia Grigorova added 11.
The Citadins led in most key statistical categories, most notably in kill efficiency, where they achieved a 27.5 per cent success rate, compared to McGill’s 21.7 per cent.
UQAM had the edge in kills (55-43), service aces (8-40, stuff blocks (10-7) and assists (51-43). McGill led in digs with a 49-47 margin.
The Martlets must now park this setback and turn their focus on preparation for the season finale against the visiting Carabins on Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. It will be the last regular season game for retiring Coach Beliveau, who will be honoured in a pre-game ceremony. A post-game reception is also scheduled. Many of her former players from the last 34 years are expected to attend. A victory over the Carabins would no doubt make it a much happier occasion.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login