MONTREAL -- Émilie Germain-Russell scored 22 points as UQAM defeated McGill 3-2 in RSEQ women's volleyball, Sunday, at Love Competition Hall. The set scores were 17-25, 25-18, 25-10, 24-26 and 15-7 in a contest that took an hour and 46 minutes to play..

It marked just the second-ever loss for the Martlets in six lifetime confrontations with the upstart Citadins, a surprisingly competitive program which joined the league last season.

Germain-Russell, a 5-foot-11 senior power hitter, earned her points with 21 kills and a pair of stuff blocks. Teammate Josiane Aubuchon recorded a game-high 21 digs on defence.

The Citadins had a 52-42 margin in kills, a 10-3 advantage in service aces, and a 41-39 edge in digs.

"We started really well today but when UQAM upped their game inthe second set, we didn't," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau. "All the teams in our league are good this year so any of them can win. So it's always going to be a tough battle, from the beginning to the end of every match. In our case, we are able to maintain that battle for certain period but not yet maintain that for a full match. Our first contact with serve receive needs to be worked on a little and we need to stick to our game plan. We are working on improving more consistency in our game."

Claire Vercheval, a physical education freshman from Ste. Julie, Que., led McGill with 16.5 points on the strength of 13 kills and four blocks, and also had five digs. Myriam Robitaille, a French language and literature junior from Terrebonne, Que., followed with 11.5 points on seven kills, two aces, and three blocks. Veteran libero Marjolaine Ste-Marie, a physical therapy enior from St. Lambert, Que., led the Martlets' defensive effort with a dozen digs.

McGill (4-5) next visits division-leading Montreal (6-3) in a key matchup on Friday, Nov. 25. UQAM (3-6) takes on Sherbrooke (4-5) that evening.