The Gaels finally met their match against the first-place Ottawa Gee-Gees.
After a strong three-set victory against the RMC Paladins Friday night, Queen’s was shut out by the Gee-Gees on Saturday, ending their win streak at nine.
Libero Shannon Walsh said the team played a strong first game despite a hostile road environment.
“When we got there the gym was packed full of fans, all for RMC, so that was kind of a challenge, but we got the job done in three sets,” Walsh said. “We were pretty happy coming away from [that game].”
The key to the game was a significant advantage in kills: Queen’s finished with 46 to RMC’s 16.
The next night, Walsh said the Gee-Gees’ blocking scheme posed the Gaels problems.
“Ottawa is a big team — they are strong and they always play very well at their home gym,” she said.
“Going into the game, we knew they were going to get their big hits and their big blocks.”
The bigger story of the match was the number of errors committed by Queen’s: the team finished with 28 errors to 25 kills on 98 attacks. The Gaels weren’t aided by 10 costly service errors.
“We shot ourselves in the foot. It was our serving errors and hitting errors that ended up losing us the game,” middle blocker Katie Neville said. “It really wasn’t anything that Ottawa brought.
“They are big hitters and got a lot of blocks on us but we knew that and were prepared for that.”
Neville added that much of the team was frustrated with the performance.
“We definitely had all the necessary assets to do so but we didn’t perform,” she said. “We were really hesitant and not going after the game.”
The Gaels will face another top team next weekend as they face off against the York Lions and the McMaster Marauders. The 13-1 Lions have looked strong this season and are competing for first in the OUA.
Neville said both teams will be a challenge.
“These last few games are really important and will determine where we end up in the playoffs and who we are going to play. I think everyone will realize it’s now or never.”
Tags
Gaels, Katie Neville, OUA, Women's Volleyball
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