Gee-Gees gallop all over Guelph

"I loved playing at home. Early in the match, we made about 10 errors in the first 15 or so points that Guelph scored. But we didn't look all flustered and bothered by it. We got rhythm when we needed it. Guelph played well and did good things but we took away their favourite things and that dictated the game," said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods.

Ottawa started the match on the right foot, quite literally, with third-year outside hitter Karina Krueger Schwanke making an impressive dig with her foot to keep a rally alive, which the Gee-Gees won. uOttawa took an early 12-8 lead which evaporated rather quickly, as Guelph battled back to take seven of the next eight points. But the Gee-Gees tightened up their play just enough to take the first set 25-22, with third-year outside hitter Kelsie English providing a huge block for the Gee-Gees' final point.

The Gee-Gees stepped up their intensity in the second set, taking an 8-3 lead, forcing the Gryphons to burn an early timeout. Guelph responded very well after the timeout, scoring the next five points, until fifth-year middle Kathryn Weihrer stopped the bleeding with a thunderous kill right down the middle of the court. Weihrer impressed with her serving later in the set, helping the Gee-Gees take a 15-11 lead. The Gee-Gees won the set 25-20 with Schwanke scoring six kills for uOttawa.

Once again, the Gryphons gave the Gee-Gees a large early lead to work with in the third set, as Ottawa led 9-2. Fourth-year setter Christina Grail did a nice job of quarterbacking the Gee-Gees offence with 32 assists. With the Gee-Gees up 15-8, rookie middle Sophie Chenail made her debut for the Garnet and Grey after missing the first four regular season matches with an injury. With sophomore Alix Durivage providing the Gee-Gees with a strong presence in the middle, Ottawa took the final set 25-22.

"We started off a little rough but eventually, we started clicking and our connections with our setter ended up being really good," said Durivage. "We've been working really hard on middle offence and it really paid off this match with Christina setting amazing sets to Kathryn and me."
The Gee-Gees' next game will also be at Montpetit Hall, with uOttawa hosting the Brock Badgers on November 10.

1 2 3 Final
Guelph 22 20 22 0
Gee-Gees 25 25 25 3
Gee-Gees leading players: Karina Krueger Schwanke 18 points, 14 kills, 6 digs; Christina Grail 32 assists, 4 kills, 4 service aces

Guelph leading players: Stephanie Vickers 8 points, 6 kills; Julie Gordon 6 kills, 5 digs