Winless on Toronto trip

Women’s volleyball dropped by Ryerson and Varsity Blues

The Gaels converted on 13 of 71 attacks in the third set of their match with Toronto last Saturday.
Image by: Arwin Chan
The Gaels converted on 13 of 71 attacks in the third set of their match with Toronto last Saturday.

After kicking off their year with a pair of wins, women’s volleyball dropped two matches in their first taste of road action this season.

The Gaels (2-2) lost in straight sets to the Ryerson Rams (4-0) last Friday. One night later, they lost again, this time taking one set against the Toronto Varsity Blues (4-0).

In the opening set against the Rams, Queen’s held tight through the first 18 points, trailing by only two. After that point, it was all Ryerson in the frame, as they reeled off six of the next seven points and eventually won 25-17.

Queen’s stormed out of the gate in the next set, taking a 5-2 lead. The Rams rallied to take nine of the next 10 points en route to a 25-15 victory.

The third frame was the only time in the match in which the Gaels stayed with Ryerson late in the set. Trailing 10-3, Queen’s came back to tie it up at 18-18, before eventually losing the set — and with it, the match — 25-22.

Brett Hagarty led all Gaels in the match with seven kills, while Shannon Neville contributed a team-high nine digs.

Against Toronto, Queen’s took advantage of 13 Varsity Blues errors in the opening set to capture it 25-18.

The set was the only one Queen’s took on the weekend, with Toronto using the momentum from a dominant second set to complete a swift comeback.

The Gaels lost the second set 25-11, before dropping the next two 25-21 and 25-16. Failure to capitalize offensively cost the Gaels the third set, as they recorded kills on only 13 of their 71 attacks.

Neville was the sole Queen’s player to put up a double-digit total in kills, tallying 18. Hagarty and Becky Wilson played strong on the defensive end, racking up 24 and 18 digs, respectively.

Rookie setter Danielle Blumentrath recorded 14 digs and 27 assists in only her fourth match with the Gaels.

The losses put Queen’s slightly back of the pack in the highly contested OUA East. While it’s only four games into the year, the losses to division rivals mean the Gaels will have to make up ground to stay among the leaders in the seven-team East.

They’ll have a chance to do that this weekend when they host the two teams below them in the standings. The RMC Paladins (0-5) visit the ARC tomorrow, while the Gaels host the Ottawa Gee-Gees (1-2) on Sunday.

Tags

Gaels, Ryerson, Toronto, Women's Volleyball

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