WEEKEND RECAP: Gee-Gees hang with #5 McGill, drop road contest at UQTR

The Gee-Gees women's volleyball team were in action against the nationally fifth-ranked McGill Martlets at home on Friday and took to the road for a matchup with the UQTR Patriotes on Sunday. Despite two very close matches, it was a 3-0 loss on Friday, and a 3-1 loss on Sunday for Ottawa.

On Friday at Montpetit Hall, McGill was quick to start, getting their top offensive option, Charlene Robitaille, involved early to. For the Gee-Gees, the outside hitting of Grace McKale and Audrey Odigie kept their Gee-Gees within reach. The scoring was back and forth, with neither team being able to build more than a two-point lead. The Gee-Gees had multiple chances at set point, but the Martlet squad continued to side out, allowing them to outlast Ottawa in the opening set, winning 28-26.

The second set started with a 6-2 run for McGill, but four kills from McKale tied the game back up. The service game of the Gee-Gees came alive, allowing the home team to build a 12-10 lead. McGill would go on a short run to tie the game up at 16 apiece, but the aggressiveness of Ottawa setter Maxim Langevin kept the offense rolling. Holding a late lead, Ottawa's unforced errors allowed McGill to capture the lead, and eventually the set win in extra points by a 27-25 final tally.

The third set saw another battle, despite a strong fight from the Gee-Gees, McGill was able to pull ahead and keep the Ottawa attack at bay, taking the third and final set 25-20.

On Sunday, Ottawa once again came out on the losing side of a closely contested affair.

In the first set, UQTR got out to a quick start, but the Gee-Gees battled back to tie the set at 14. After pulling ahead in the set, Ottawa had difficulties closing off the win, allowing the Patriotes to come back and ultimately secure a 27-25 win.

The second was a different story for Ottawa, as they got hot through the middle of the set and built a healthy lead that they were able to maintain to earn the six-point win 25-19 and tie the match at 1-1. 

The third set was another nail-biter and would end up as the fourth set of seven that the team played on the weekend that needed to be settled in extra points. Coming from behind, the Gee-Gees battled to a tie and had set point before quickly turning in the Patriotes' favour to hand them the 27-25 win.

In the fourth and final set, the match shifted more definitively into UQTR's favour. After putting up a valiant fight throughout the previous three sets, Ottawa fell to the Patriotes 25-14, clinching the 3-1 win for the hosts.

"Our newness as a group was evident this afternoon," said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods. "We did not take care of the times in the game when we could've closed the door."

Looking ahead, Ottawa will take to the road to for a matchup with the Sherbrooke Vert et Or on Friday, Nov. 25, before returning home for the team's final game at Montpetit Hall before the exam and holiday break against Laval on Sunday, Nov. 27. 

Sherbrooke and Laval, both 3-5 on the season, are the teams directly ahead of the Gee-Gees in the RSEQ standings. The two matches will be key for Ottawa's chances in moving up in the standings.

"The silver lining in this is that you can't forge a diamond without pressure and time," said Woods. "This afternoon was the pressure, our kids are always ready and willing to put in the time – we will be better next weekend."

Tickets for the match against Laval are available at tickets.geegees.ca.