News

Martlets volleyballers feast on maritime offerings

Published: 23 November 2008

MONTREAL – They say that there’s nothing like home cooking and the next best thing for the McGill women’s volleyball team is a heaping serving of maritime food from the Atlantic University Sport conference.

The Martlets, who have been rumoured to salivate like Pavlov’s dog when getting a chance to play some league games against the AUS, swept all four interlocking matches at the Currie gymnasium over the weekend.

McGill clawed the UPEI Panthers 3-0 on Friday, winning by set scores of 26-24, 25-12 and 25-22.

The next day, they outlasted the UNB Red Devils in a see-saw, five-set affair (23-25, 25-19, 25-20, 20-25 and 15-10) that took two hours and three minutes to play. Some four hours later, McGill bounced back to chop down the Cape Breton Capers 25-18, 25-23 and 25-22.

The McGill women wrapped up a perfect weekend on Sunday by mastering Moncton 26-24-25-18 and 25-24.

The four-match sweep gave the Martlets an 8-1 record in interlocking play this season and an impressive 34-2 record in interlocking contests since the unique scheduling concept between the Quebec and Atlantic conferences began in 2005-06.

All-Canadian Jennifer Thomson and junior Kelsey Irwin accounted for the bulk of the McGill scoring over the weekend.

Thomson, a 5-foot-7 power hitter from Rosemere, Que., racked up 64 points in 14 sets, including 56 kills, seven aces and one block. The 21-year-old physical education senior also contributed a team-leading 70 digs and an impressive 2.6 passing ratio out of 3.

Irwin, a 6-foot middle blocker from Vancouver, B.C., accumulated 60 points with 47 kills, one ace and 12 blocks. She also had 24 digs.

Sarah Howell, the 5-foot-5 libero from Montreal, registered 57 digs over the weekend.

The Martlets now sit tied with Laval for second in the four-team Quebec conference with a 10-4 record, four victories shy of first-place Montreal. Laval is 10-3 and holds a game in hand on McGill, while a highly-competitive Sherbrooke squad brings up the rear at 8-6.

McGill will close out the first semester by hosting Sherbrooke on Nov. 28. The Martlets have beaten the Vert & Or in both meetings to date, winning 3-0 and 3-1 in a pair of road matches. After the exam break, they will be heading to a training camp in Florida, Dec. 28-31, to hone their skills and no doubt work on their tans.

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