Sports in Brief: Women’s Volleyball extend win streak to 11 games

Recapping a successful weekend for the Gaels

The Gaels competed hard on the ice, court, and in the water.

From the rink to the pool, Queen’s gave it their all this past week. Here’s everything the Gaels had to offer.

Men’s Hockey

Queen’s Men’s Hockey saw their seven-game win streak snapped by the McGill Redbirds in Blainville, QC, on Jan. 18, followed by a tough loss to the top-ranked Concordia Stingers the following night on Jan. 19 in Montreal, QC.

Despite Liam Tanner, Kin ’28, opening the scoring for the Gaels just 12 minutes into the first period, the Redbirds responded with authority. McGill not only shut the Gaels out the remainder of the game but also scored five goals, tying the most goals the Gaels have allowed this season.

The following game added insult to injury, as the Gaels conceded another five goals en route to a 5-2 loss against the Concordia Stingers.

After failing to capitalize on a powerplay just five minutes into the contest, the Gaels allowed their first goal of the game. Before the end of the period, the Gaels were once again stung by Concordia after failing to score on the powerplay.

Just before the end of the first period, Hayden Fowler, ArtSci ’25, got the Gaels on the scoresheet. However, this didn’t prevent the Stingers from continuing along their goal parade into the second period.

The Stingers scored three unanswered goals as the second period opened, leading to Aidan Spooner, Comm ’27, being substituted in, putting starting goaltender Christian Purboo, ArtSci ’25, out of his misery.

The Gaels scored their second and final goal thanks to Daniel Michaud, ArtSci ’27, just before the end of the second period. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to spark a comeback for the Gaels. A scoreless yet physical third period ended the game, marking the second straight loss for the Gaels.

Women’s Hockey

The Women’s Hockey team broke their three-game losing streak with a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against the Brock Badgers on Jan. 17 in St. Catharine’s, Ont.

Queen’s and Brock had nearly identical records going into this game, with both teams sitting in dead last within their respective divisions.

Goaltender Emma Tennant, Sci ’26, played an outstanding game for the Gaels, saving 42 shots of 45 shots and shutting down the Badgers when it mattered most.

Taya Leonard, ArtSci ’27, was the first to score for the Gaels under a minute into the game, with the Badgers responding with two consecutive goals early in the second period.

With just under five minutes to play in the second period, Leonard recorded her second point of the night, assisting the equalizer by Sophie Hudson, Sci ’25.

It was an even match throughout most of the third period until Sienna Bullen, ArtSci ’27, broke the seal for the Gaels. Tennant did everything she could to hold firm for the Gaels during the rest of the third, however, the Badgers tied the game with just 30 seconds left, sending the two teams to overtime.

Poised to make it up to her team, Tennant didn’t let down, setting the stage for Gaels’ forward Alyson Reeves, Comm ’25, to score the overtime winner with just 4.1 seconds left to play in the game.

Men’s Volleyball

The Men’s team didn’t disappoint in cementing the prestige of the Gaels’ volleyball teams, winning back to back games against the Guelph Gryphons on Jan. 17 and 18.

After winning the first set against the Gryphons 25-20, the Gaels dropped the proceeding two sets 17-25 and 13-25, then came back to clinch the comeback win with 26-24 and 15-12 point wins in the fourth and fifth sets.

The team was led by Nikola Mitrovic ArtSci ’26, who scored 14.5 points and 12 kills.

The second day of play was just as challenging for the Men’s team, once again needing all five sets to secure the win against the Gryphons.

The Gaels traded sets with the Gryphons, losing 19-25, then winning 27-25. After losing their third set 25-27, the Gaels won the fourth and fifth installments of the match, 25-25, and 15-13, securing the weekend sweep for the Gaels.

Reed Venning, ArtSci ’26, carried much of the load for the. Gaels, recording 20.5 points off 18 kills and four blocks.

Women’s Volleyball

The Women’s Volleyball team dominated the weekend on the road, sweeping the Guelph Gryphons in Guelph, Ont. on Jan. 17 and 18.

The first match was a nail-biter, with the Gaels narrowly winning 3-2 after trading sets (30-32, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20, 15-10).

Aimee Lemire, ConEd ’25, led the way for the Gaels offensively, scoring 21.5 points on 18 kills, three blocks, and two aces.

The Women’s team had a much easier second day. After wearing out the Gryphons during their first match, the Gaels won in straight sets, 25-21, 25-15, 31-29.

Hannah Duchesneau, ArtSci ’25, led the way for the women with 15 kills, bringing the Women’s Volleyball win streak to 11 games in a row and furthering their lead as the first seed in the OUA.

Queen’s Swimming

The Gaels travelled to Ottawa, Ont. to compete in the University of Ottawa Tri-Meet on Jan. 16.

The meet housed the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees, Carleton Ravens and our Queen’s Gaels, with the Gaels securing a second-place finish with 263 points overall.

The Men’s team secured 106 points on the weekend, with the Women’s team scoring 157. The Queen’s Swim team named Josh Arbuckle, Comm ’26, and Julia Baldassarre, Sci ’25, as their swimmers of the meet.

Queen’s Swimming’s will compete next in Markham, Ont. from Feb. 7 to 9 for the OUA Championships.

Men’s Basketball

Men’s Basketball faced off twice against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks this week, once on Jan. 15 in Oshawa, Ont, and again on Jan. 18 in the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC).

Their first meeting resulted in a 99-78 win for the Gaels, having only been outscored in the third quarter.

Although it was an off-day for Gaels’ star Ollie Engen, ArtSci ’28, the guard still led the team with 18 points, and four assists despite going 0-5 from the three point line.

The System, as it has come to be known, paid off tremendously for the Gaels, scoring 32 points off turnovers and the bench scoring 39 points themselves.

Lucas Ponting, Comm ’26, was a heavy contributor off the bench, scoring 17 points, which included three momentous three-pointers.

Queen’s largest lead of the game was present late in the first half. Their 27-point lead put Queen’s out of reach from any Ridgeback comeback.

On Jan. 18, the Gaels beat the Ridgebacks again, only this time on homecourt at the ARC, and by a much narrower margin.

It was a hard-fought 86-79 win for the Gaels in the second game, relying heavily on a strong first half to carry them to victory.

The Gaels outscored the Ridgebacks by 14 points in the first half, eventually holding off the seven-point deficit they faced in the back end of their matchup.

The Gaels were doing a good job forcing turnovers, however, they struggled to convert them to points on the scoreboard. They only recorded 23 points off turnovers, their lowest in the past five games.

While the Gaels didn’t necessarily struggle from the three-point line, they did by their standards, especially in the second half, going 5-11 in the first half and 4-15 in the second.

Luckily, a strong offensive and defensive performance from the persistent Luka Syllas, ConEd ’25, who recorded 26 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, helped carry the Gaels past the finish line.

Women’s Basketball 

The Women’s Basketball team had an identical schedule to the Men’s, tipping off against the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks in Oshawa, Ont. on Jan. 15, playing them again on Jan. 18 in the ARC.

Both games were blowout wins for the Gaels. En route to building their current 12-game win streak, the Queen’s Women’s Basketball team beat the Ridgebacks 74-46 and 68-27.

In their first matchup, center Katrina Renon, ArtSci ’27, had a stellar performance in the paint, shooting 3-4 from beyond the arc and recording 10 rebounds and 23 points on the night.

Renon was complimented by another titan in the paint, Mikayla McFarlane, Kin ’25, who had 16 points and another 10 rebounds for the Gaels.

The Gaels never conceded the lead once and had a leash on the Ridgebacks all night.

In their second matchup of the week, the Gaels shined bright on home court, scoring more than two times as many points as the Ridgebacks.

Once again, Renon and McFarlane dominated the game from the paint, combining 36 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists. First-year guard Brooke Hussey, Kin ’28, also played a stellar game, scoring 13 points and assisting four baskets to help put the Gaels over the top.

The Gaels’ defensive pressure forced the Ridgebacks into multiple mistakes, converting 31 points off turnovers and holding every Ontario Tech player to under 10 points.

Tags

Basketball, Hockey, swimming, Volleyball

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