RECAP: Women’s volleyball push UQAM to the brink in five-set thriller

The Gee-Gees women's volleyball team proved to be a formidable foe for the first place UQAM Citadins, taking the first two sets before the Citadins clawed back to take the win in a close battle on Friday night in Montréal. 

JANUARY 31 at UQAM

Following a back-and-forth sequence to open the game, the Gee-Gees went on a 8-3 run to take a 14-9 lead in the first set. UQAM trailed the majority of the set, until they took the lead at 22-20. A pair of aces by Emily Lenton restored momentum in Ottawa's favour, before Kara Hayes closed it out with a kill for the 25-23 win in the opening set.

The second set featured some of the Gee-Gees best play this season. They never trailed on their way to taking the set by a margin of 25-16. The team totaled 14 kills and only one error on 25 attempts, for an eye-popping hitting percentage of .520.

UQAM capitalized on attack errors in the third set, with five of their final six points coming by Gee-Gees misplays.

The fourth set opened with a 7-1 sequence for UQAM, before Ottawa went on their own run and trailed by a single point at 8-7. The Citadins gradually expanded their lead, forcing a deciding fifth set.

UQAM continued to rally with momentum, a gained an early 8-3 lead. As the Gee-Gees chipped into the deficit, they found themselves on the brink at 14-9. Three straight points from UQAM errors pulled the Gee-Gees within two points, but the Citadins ultimately closed it out. 

STATS AT A GLANCE

• Statistically, Dana Bulloch had one of her best games this season. She generated 11 kills, her highest single-game total this season and a hitting percentage of 0.391 — the best of any player in the match with more than 20 attempts.
• Ottawa is the only team that has pushed first-place UQAM to a fifth set in multiple game this season.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING

"We refuse to quit working and we're improving. The line-up that started tonight, earned it in training — they played together and clean for the first two sets. We served tougher than we have, which set up most other things that went well; we competed all the way through those sets and simply put, we were the team that I know we are capable of being. … It was the same last weekend for the first set versus Laval. Our Achilles Heel has been sustainability and eventually that was the case again tonight. Proud of our kids on the court — they will work hard this week and make the most of the last two opportunities this year, I am sure." — Lionel Woods, head coach

UP NEXT

The Gee-Gees will conclude their season next weekend. They'll travel to Laval on Saturday afternoon, then wrap the season the following day at Montpetit Hall against Sherbrooke at 2 p.m. Tickets are available now at tickets.geegees.ca.