Gee-Gees return to Montpetit Hall to start homestand against Waterloo

Host Waterloo (2-9 OUA) Saturday, January 12, 2:00 p.m. (SSN Canada)

The uOttawa Gee-Gees women's volleyball team won its first two matches of 2013 the hard way, beating Toronto and Ryerson in five-set marathon affairs. Facing a last-place Waterloo squad that has lost six straight games, the nationally eighth-ranked Gee-Gees will be hoping for a more complete effort at Montpetit Hall. The last time these two teams played each other, back on Oct. 27, Ottawa came out on top, three sets to one.

"In the Toronto and Ryerson games, I didn't feel that we played with the same speed, the same rhythm, and the same connection that we played with before the winter break. But we did find a way to win against two tough teams that are right behind us in the standings so that was the positive. And now we want to improve our performance against Waterloo," said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods.

An interesting quirk in the OUA schedule means that the Gee-Gees only have six games left in the regular season, as opposed to some of their rivals, such as the York Lions, who have 10 games left on their plate. Of the six, the Gee-Gees will play their next four games within the friendly confines of Montpetit Hall-uOttawa is aiming to fine-tune their play in these final six matches to fully prepare themselves for the OUA playoffs.

"We have one simple goal and that's to be back where we were last year, in the OUA gold medal game. We want to find our game and our best performance and we want to stay as there as long as possible," said Woods. "There are only 47 days left in the season, including the Final Four. This group will never be together again after these 47 days, so we want to put ourselves in a good spot to take a run at things."

The Warriors are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, ranking sixth in the country in blocks per set and seventh in the country in digs per set. Led by one of the best OUA rookies in Shannon Lodoen and second-year outside hitter Clara Tse, the Warriors will be looking to pull off a huge upset on January 12. The Gee-Gees will counter with the top-ranked serving attack in the CIS and a group of blockers who also rank among the top teams in blocking, in hopes of winning their fourth straight game.

Ottawa fans will also have a chance to see one of the key members of the Gee-Gees 2006-07 OUA championship-winning squad this weekend as Rachel Runnels returns to her hometown wearing the Waterloo black and gold.

"For two years, Waterloo has played us tough. They've had a lot of injuries but they're fighting to get into the playoffs right now so I expect a great fight," said Woods.