Full tournament schedule available here: http://www.geegees.ca/node/654&sid=22.
The Gee-Gees women's volleyball team will play at Montpetit Hall for the first time this pre-season when they host the 2012 Gee-Gees Pre-season Classic from September 28 to 30. Ottawa will be welcoming five schools to Montpetit Hall this weekend including three OUA teams in Guelph, Waterloo, and McMaster and two RSEQ teams in Sherbrooke and McGill. This past weekend, Ottawa competed at an exhibition tournament at the Université de Montréal and ended up with a 3-2 record after beating three of the four RSEQ teams at the tournament.
In Montréal, the Gee-Gees earned a 3-2 comeback victory against Sherbrooke after losing the first two sets of the match and then beat the host Carabins by a score of 3-1. The Carabins won the RSEQ regular season title last season and are perennially among the top five teams in the country. Ottawa also beat Laval in a 3-0 sweep and their only two losses came against McGill, the CIS bronze medallists from last year. The Gee-Gees results are even more impressive when you consider that the RSEQ is arguably the best women's volleyball conference in the CIS.
"I don't remember the last time we had those results against the RSEQ teams. We beat three of the four teams, only lost to McGill, and we played dead even against them. And I think we could have had a good chance at beating McGill in the last game if Christina Grail [Ottawa's starting setter] hadn't been injured," said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods. "From top to bottom, our whole team, I think we're ready to take the next step."
This weekend, Ottawa will face Sherbrooke and McMaster in the round robin, as the three teams are part of the Garnet pool. McMaster is an interesting opponent in particular, as they were the hottest team in the OUA down the stretch last season. The Marauders won eight of their last nine games to qualify for the playoffs as the fourth seed, after starting the season 3-6.
"McMaster is among the top half of teams in our league for sure and I'm happy to play them. They are a tough, tough young team with one of the best setters in the province. And of course, we're familiar with Sherbrooke from last weekend, and they're a good, fast team," said Woods.
The Gee-Gees are returning most of their starters from the OUA silver medal winning team from last season, including Grail, outside attackers Karina Krueger Schwanke, Myriam English, and Kelsie English, and middle Kathryn Weihrer. While uOttawa will miss the graduated Claudia Seguin who had been the Gee-Gees starting libero for the past few seasons, third-year libero Stephanie Theiler is more than capable of stepping up in 2012-13. The Gee-Gees also had a strong recruiting season as they will have two new rookies in libero Véronique Caya (Embrun, Ont.) and middle-slash-right side hitter Sophie Chenail (Sherbrooke, Qué.). Setter Michelle Chevalier (Canmore, Alb.) is an NCAA transfer from Mississippi Valley State and she will be eligible to play for uOttawa starting on November 20.
"Chenail is coming out of the CEGEP system and she's not a typical rookie. The CEGEP system prepares players very well, they train and play very similarly to university teams. Her intensity and her passion for the game make her a great addition to our team. Caya is a great backup for Stephanie and gives us depth at the position. She's another player who doesn't look like a rookie when she steps on the court. The third player is Michelle, and we're very excited to add another pure setter to our squad," explained Woods.
Two years ago, the Gee-Gees won the OUA bronze medal while last season, the Gee-Gees won the OUA silver medal. Obviously Gee-Gees fans will be cheering for the trend to continue with a potential OUA gold medal being in the cards for uOttawa this season. After coming within one game of making the CIS championships last year, the Gee-Gees are extremely motivated to return to the OUA championship game this season, and hopefully, earn their first CIS berth since the 2006-07 season.
"There are a large number of players who have been a part of the bronze and silver medal winning teams. There are a lot of teams in Ontario who could win it all this season, but in our players' minds, there's no question that they are motivated by last year's gold medal game loss, and driven by the possibility of taking one more step this season," said Woods.
And it all starts this weekend at the Gee-Gees Pre-season Classic, with three-day tournament passes being available for just $15. Come and cheer on your Gee-Gees as they prepare themselves for a success-filled 2012-13 season!
