Sam Reynolds
This weekend’s faceoff agains Laval’s Rouge et Or in the RSEQ semi-finals was undoubtedly the greatest challenge the Martlet volleyball team faced this season. Coming off a 5-10 season and sporting a minus 11 set differential, the team barely edged out a weak Sherbrooke team to qualify for the playoffs.
On the other hand, the Rouge et Or were coming off a strong season in which they finished second in the RSEQ with a 10–5 record and a plus 11 set differential, which gave them the home-court advantage in the series. Throughout the season, Laval defeated the Martlets three times in five games, with all three of those wins being 3-0 shutouts. The weekend promised to be chock-full of great volleyball, and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
The first game, played in Quebec City, was a hard-fought game in which Laval came out with the win. Playing the entire five sets, McGill looked prone to begin the upset when they won the first set 25-17, but the Rouge et Or fought back and took the next two sets 25-19 and 26-24. The Martlets managed to tie it at two, but their opponents won the tie-breaker to go home with the first match. Despite the frustrating outcome, senior middle-blockers Kaiva Mateus (16 kills, two aces and four blocks) and Genevieve Plante (10 kills, one ace and two blocks) had very strong games, but Laval’s Donna Ouellet was a rock on defence with 10 blocks, and Catherine Laurin was unstoppable offensively with 17 kills.
With the season on the line, the Martlets came back to McGill hoping to forget their previous losing effort with a strong outing. Their memory was refreshed though, as this time Laval won the first set 25-17 and then the third set 25-19 to put the Martlets within one set of elimination. Yet the Martlets never gave up and due to their resilience, they edged out a 25-23 win to tie the game at two. By then, momentum was fully on McGill’s side as the team completed their incredible comeback in the third set with a 15-9 win. Kaiva Mateus once again led her team offensively with 14 kills, all the while registering two aces and five blocks, with third-year power hitter Emily Kyte close behind with 11 kills and one block.
With the RSEQ finals in sight, both teams headed back to Quebec City in order to determine who would face first-place Universite de Montreal. Once again, the Martlets started the match poorly, allowing themselves to be pushed to the brink of elimination once again when they dropped the first two sets to Laval 25-17 and 25-22.
But, like the previous game, the McGill squad never gave up and, led by mid-game substitution Victoria Pelleter, the team roared back to win three straight sets, bringing them to only their third presence in the RSEQ finals in team history and qualifying them for the CIS national championships. Apart from Pelleter, it was third-year setter Marie Lapointe’s time to shine offensively, as the veteran scored 16 kills while Mateus, the team’s offensive leader in both previous games, became a defensive juggernaut, leading the team with a superb 12 blocks.
The Martlets now face top-seeded Montreal University for the RSEQ title. The matchup’s three games will be played over the next two weekends, with the first game on Feb. 17th.
