SHERBROOKE, Que. -- Sarah-Jeanne Meunier-Bédard tallied 23.5 points as Sherbrooke edged visiting McGill 3-2 in RSEQ women's volleyball before 200 fans at Pavillon Univestrie on Friday. The set scores were 18-25, 25-20, 21-25, 26-24, and 13-15.

The loss snapped McGill's four-game win streak against the Vert & Or, dating back to a shocking 3-0 sweep in the first game of last year's RSEQ best-of-three semifinal series, which the Martlets came back to win. The teams are tied at 1-1 in league play this season.

The Vert & Or had a 15-3 margin in stuff blocks and a 51-48 edge in kills, while the Martlets held a 10-6 advantage in service aces and a 145-122 difference in digs in a spirited defensive battle.

"Sometimes you play five matches and it's not a long game but tonight, this was a long game with tight rallies," said McGill head coach Rachele Beliveau about the evenly-matched contest that took two hours and six minutes to play. "It was as close as you can get. We played a decent game overall but Sherbrooke played really well. We still need to work on some key technical points, it's not only about hitting high."

Meunier-Bédard, a 5-foot-11 sophomore, had 18 kills, a pair of aces and seven stuff blocks in the contest, along with 11 digs. Teammate Joanie Whittom led a strong defensive effort with a massive 38 digs.

For McGill, Rowan Fletcher, a political science freshman from Montreal led the way with 15.5 points, on the strength of 15 kills and an assisted block. The six-footer who lines up on the right side, was also credited with 29 digs and one assist.

"She played really well offensively with a kill efficiency of more than 40 per cent," noted Beliveau.

Teammate Erika Cournoyer of Longueuil, Que., added 15 points, courtesy of 10 kills, four aces and a pair of assisted blocks. She also had eight digs and a pair of assists. Claire Vercheval, a physical education freshman from Ste. Julie, Que., also reached double figures in scoring, with 11 points thanks to 10 kills and a block. She also registered 19 digs.

Marie-Eve Dorion led the Martlets in passing with a 2.44 ratio out of 3.

Sherbrooke (4-4) takes on Laval (4-3) on Saturday (Nov. 19). McGill (4-4) next hosts UQAM (2-6) on Sunday (Nov. 20).

MARTLET MURMURS: McGill Athletics & Recreation will host the fifth annual Doug McDougall memorial blood donor clinic on Tuesday, Nov. 22, from 9:30 am to 5 pm at Tomlinson Hall, located inside the Sir Arthur Currie Gym at 475 Pine Avenue West. McDougall, who died in 2011, was well-known in the McGill community. His wife Sally Drury was a member of the ski team during her college days and their four sons all played varsity sports at McGill.


Short Box Score

Sherbrooke def. McGill 3-1 
(25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-13)

McGill (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rowan Fletcher 15-0-1; Erika
Cournoyer 10-4-2; Claire Vercheval 10-0-1; Myriam Robitaille 6-3-0;
Marie-Eve Dorion 6-1-1; Ariane Lavoie-Boutin 1-0-0; Thara Dawoodjee
0-1-0; Emilie MattedeGrasse 0-1-0; Totals 48-10-3.0. (Assists) - Thara
Dawoodjee 35. (Dig leaders) - Rowan Fletcher 29; Thara Dawoodjee 29;
Marjolaine Ste-Marie 25; Marie-Eve Dorion 20; Claire Vercheval 19;
Myriam Robitaille 9; Erika Cournoyer 8

Sherbrooke (Kills-aces-blocks) - Sarah-J. Meunier-B. 18-2-7;
Cather. Deslauriers 11-0-2; Jessica Lambert 11-2-2; Flavie Beaudin-Fol
5-0-7; Maude Frechette 2-0-0; Veronique David 2-0-6; Kim Robitaille
2-1-3; Cindy Lambert 0-1-0; Totals 51-6-15.0. (Assists) - Kim
Robitaille 41. (Dig leaders) - Joanie Whittom 38; Jessica Lambert 23;
Cather. Deslauriers 19; Kim Robitaille 15; Sarah-J. Meunier-B. 11

Site: Sherbrooke, Qc (Pavillon Univestrie)

Date: 18 nov. 16     Attend: 200   Time: 2:06

Referees: Julien Duranceau, Rene Marechal

 

2016-16 RSEQ Women's Volleyball Standings (updated after game)

Pos	Équipe	MJ	V	D	SG	SP	PP	PC	MOY	Diff.	PTS
1	Montréal	8	6	2	20	7	643	536	0.750	0.0	12
2	Laval	7	4	3	13	11	523	493	0.571	1.5	8
3	McGill	8	4	4	16	17	713	724	0.500	2.0	8
4	Sherbrooke	8	4	4	16	17	711	704	0.500	2.0	8
5	Ottawa	7	3	4	11	16	562	615	0.429	2.5	6
6	UQAM	8	2	6	10	18	572	652	0.250	4.0	4