Back and forth

Rams downed, Blues cruise; Gee-Gees loom tomorrow

The Gaels won and lost against some of the top competition in the OUA.

On Friday night, the women swapped sets on the road with the Ryerson Rams (6-4), as the Gaels won in a deciding set. They lost in four frames to the Toronto Varsity Blues on Saturday.

The Ryerson match proved to be one of the hardest-fought battles of the season so far.

Queen’s (5-3) won the bout 32-30, 16-25, 27-25, 16-25 and 15-12, prevailing in overtime in the first and third sets.

“We definitely went the distance,” said Gaels head coach Joely Christian-Macfarlane.

Queen’s managed to earn a victory despite Ryerson scoring 25 points or more in each of the first four sets — normally the amount it takes to win a match.

Ryerson won the fourth set and forced a fifth and deciding frame, putting Queen’s on their heels. After going down 8-3 in the final set, the Gaels showed great poise and composure, clawing their way back to win the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Outside hitter Brett Hagarty led the Gaels with 19 points and 17 kills in the match.

On Saturday, the Gaels faced the Varsity Blues (8-2) in Toronto. After a grueling match the day before, the women couldn’t muster a win against the Blues.

The Gaels managed to win one set and battled hard in the others. In the end, Toronto won the contest in four: 25-19, 19-25, 25-22 and 25-18.

The start time was pushed back from the usual 6 p.m., to 8 p.m.

“The game was just a little bit outside of our regular routine,” said Christian-Macfarlane said.

Outside hitter Kelsey Bishop was dominant on Saturday, posting 22 points, both team and game highs.

Had the Gaels secured the win, they would have moved into a tie with Ryerson for the fourth spot in the OUA East.

Despite losing Saturday, the team gained some valuable points this weekend that could come in handy down the road.

The Gaels have just one game left before the holiday break, against the Ottawa Gee-Gees tomorrow night.

The Gee-Gees (9-1) are coming into the match hot after winning a back-and-forth battle last weekend against the previously undefeated York Lions.

Queen’s is seeking redemption for a three-set loss they suffered to Ottawa in their season opener.

Tags

Christian-Macfarlane, Gaels, Ryerson, Toronto, Women's Volleyball

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