The Gaels’ national championship hopes were blocked by the Badgers, as the veteran team won in four sets.
The Women’s volleyball team travelled to St. Catherines on Feb. 27 to take on the Brock Badgers in the OUA semifinals. The Badgers finished as the number one seed in the OUA with a 17-3 record and ranked fourth in the USports Rankings. The Gaels are the fourth seed in the OUA, finishing 14-6 and sweeping the Guelph Gryphons in the Quarterfinals.
The teams first met up in the Gaels’ first match of the season at the ARC, where both games resulted in a five-set victory for the Badgers. The Gaels would hope that the ball goes their way, to hopefully have a chance to play for the Quigley Cup.
A high-energy environment at Brock was certainly uneasy as the Gaels came out swinging and taking an early lead. The hot start wouldn’t be enough to stop the Badgers, as their clean play was evident throughout the match. The first set would go to the Badgers, taking it 25-21.
The second set was more of the same; the Badgers would breakaway late off a five-service run. The Gaels would try to claw back, but the late lead was too great to come back from, and the Badgers would take the second set 25-21 yet again.
A strong Badgers team looked like they were poised to run away with the game, being up 9-4 early in the set. However, after a timeout, the regroup rejuvenated the Gaels, and they cut the deficit to just three. The Badgers would go on yet another offensive run to take an 18-11 lead. But the resilient Gaels squad continued to fight, and being down 21-19, Pascale Galarneau would go on a seven-service run and win the set 25-21.
After the emotional third-set win, the Gaels rode that high into the fourth set, taking an early lead and holding it for a majority of the set. The Badgers, however, would strike back and, unfortunately for the Gaels, take the lead and never look back, winning the set 25-22.
In the game, the Gaels led in almost every statistical category except for digs. The Badgers’ defence was an absolute force, stopping the hard-hitting Gaels and in this match was the answer. The Gaels team fought until the very end, a highly resilient, close-knit group that enjoyed every aspect of the team.
Tags
Brock Badgers, Gaels, USPORTS, Women's Volleyball
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