After a surprise victory against previously undefeated Université de Sherbrooke Vert et Or just two days prior, Martlets volleyball (8–9) took to Love Competition Hall on Jan. 12 for a game against Université Laval Rouge et Or. Despite a tough 16-25 loss in the fourth set, McGill triumphed in the final set, winning 15-9.
Following a strong first set by McGill, Rouge et Or had fought back to win a close second set. With Laval in the lead midway through the third set, McGill began regaining momentum. Decisive hits from outside hitter Rachel Leduc, U3 Management, and strong serves from setter Selima Guidara, U2 Arts, helped the team regain their lead and win the third set 25-21.
Rouge et Or went on to dominate the fourth set, beginning and ending with long serving runs as the Martlets’s defence waned. In spite of this, McGill claimed an early lead in the fifth set, going 3-0 and forcing Laval to an early timeout. Although Laval managed to regain their footing and fought hard for long rallies, the Martlets powered through to take the final set.
In an interview with The Tribune, Leduc explained that, despite the challenging fourth set, the team went into the final one energized and focused on winning.
“We really prioritized staying calm, and every point felt like a victory,” Leduc said. “We were going one point at a time, and then as soon as we hit eight first, […] I think we kind of knew we had it in the bag, but we kept our calm.”
Head Coach Rachèle Béliveau explained that the win against Vert et Or on Friday had served as an important motivator for the team going into the game, especially as over half of the team’s players are currently sick.
“I tried to just keep the energy so that when it was time to push, that we would have the push and then try to recover in the little moments we had,” Béliveau said. “So I’m very proud of them, because it was a really tough situation to deal with, playing […] two of the best teams in the league, and being able to come out with a win.”
Renewed confidence wasn’t the only thing the team took from Friday’s match; Leduc highlighted that during the game against Sherbrooke, the team had experimented with their normal lineup, with position changes such as setter Charlotte Chouinard-Laliberte, U3 arts, hitting right-side. As these changes proved effective in the match against Vert et Or, the Martlets adopted the same strategy going into the Laval game.
“It was kind of a risk, but it worked really well,” Leduc said. “We’ve always known that [Chouinard-Laliberte] was a good hitter, but she never tried it in a game, so having her on the right side helped.”
Guidara—who had a career-high 45 assists during the game—noted that the Martlets hope to use the momentum from these wins to reach their goal of making the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec playoffs later in the season. The team is currently sitting in fifth place, with the top four teams moving on to playoffs in February.
“We have an underdog mentality. You know, we’re a young team, [and] we won against some of the best teams,” Guidara said. “I feel like right now, nothing is impossible, and we could make it to playoffs.”
Moment of the game:
Martlet power hitter Elyssa Lajmi claimed back-to-back kills early on in the fifth set, reenergizing the team and the home crowd toward the end of the game.
Stats corner:
Four players had double-digit kills throughout the game: Lajmi, Leduc, middle blocker Emilia Grigorova, and Chouinard-Laliberte.
Quotable:
“I think we just stepped on the court trusting ourselves and trusting every girl, and knowing what we were capable of doing Friday against a top-ranked team.” — Selima Guidara, on the team’s attitude before the game.
The Martlets will return to the court on Jan. 19 to play against École de technologie Supérieureat Love Competition Hall.
