WEEKEND RECAP: Gee-Gees drop valiant home battles with #9 Brock

The Gee-Gees women's volleyball team hosted the nationally ninth-ranked Brock Badgers for back-to-back matches at Montpetit Hall on Friday and Saturday. Despite a valiant effort in both contests, Ottawa came up short, losing 3-0 on Friday and 3-2 in a nailbiter on Saturday.

In Friday's opener, the Gee-Gees pushed Brock to the limit in the first set, tying the score at 25-25 before the Badgers eked out a 27-25 victory. A back-and-forth second set saw the Gee-Gees take an 8-5 lead, before Brock battled into the lead, Ottawa responded, but eventually the Badgers ripped off a dominant final run to secure the 25-17 set win.

The Badgers carried their momentum into the third, closing the match with a 25-11 win in the final frame.

Nicole Hildebrand led the Gee-Gees with nine kills, while Audrey Odigie added seven kills and three aces on the night.

Saturday's rematch was a thriller, with Ottawa coming firing out of the gates to take the first two sets by an identical 25-17 final tally. The Badgers responded with a narrow 25-21 win in the third set to stay alive, rattling off the final five points to bound back from a 21-19 deficit late in the set.

The fourth was another toe-to-toe battle, with the Badgers coming out on top 25-18 to force a fifth and final set. In the fifth, the teams traded points back and forth throughout, with Ottawa on the brink of closing out the win by taking a 13-12 lead, Brock flipped the script and rallied to take the final set 15-13 and close out the victory.

Odigie led the way with 23 kills on the afternoon, also adding four aces and eight digs on the defensive end. Hildebrand had 11 kills, while Harper Schaefer tallied 44 assists and five digs. In extended playing time, first-year libero Jessica Goodman tallied 10 digs.

Up Next:

The Gee-Gees will take a pause for the exams and holiday break before returning to the court in the New Year with exhibition matchups against the Waterloo Warriors on Jan. 10 and 11 at Montpetit Hall.