BRANDON, Man. (CIS) – The Dalhousie Tigers fought off a strong push by the McGill Martlets on Saturday to advance to the consolation final of the CIS Women's Volleyball Championship.
The Tigers rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the fifth set to defeat the Martlets 25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12 in their consolation semifinal.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index
Anna Dunn-Suen had 16 kills, 15 digs and three aces to lead Dalhousie. McGill's Catherine Amyot had 19 kills and 16 digs.
Although they are no longer in contention for the title, Tigers head coach Rick Scott said his players are proud and want to earn the best finish they can.
"We wanted to prove to everyone today that we're a strong team," Scott said. "We have a lot of respect for McGill and knew it was going to be a tough match. We were really focused on getting this win and getting to that fifth-place match tomorrow."
The start of the match was close with the teams tied 19-19 before the Tigers won six of the next eight points to claim the first set. McGill got on track in the second set with 16 kills to tie the match, before Dalhousie responded with 16 kills in the third set to retake the lead in the match.
The fourth set was much like the second, with the Martlets racing out to a quick start before winning the set and tying the match. Dalhousie rallied late in the fourth set and Scott believes that set the Tigers up for a strong fifth set.
"I thought we did a good job coming back in the fourth set to kind of regain some momentum," Scott said. "I'm very proud of the girls for bouncing back from yesterday and getting a win against a very good McGill team.
McGill committed eight errors in the fifth set, and Martlets head coach Rachele Beliveau said her team needed to be more consistent. Despite that, she said the team made great progress this year, taking both of their matches at nationals to five sets.
"I'm very proud of what we've done this year," she said. "We came from being ranked fourth in Quebec for the last three seasons but very, very tight and coming up and having a really good season this year, so we have to look at the whole, overall picture and not just a weekend, even though I thought we played really well.
The Tigers will play the Montreal Carabins in Sunday's fifth-place match.
In Saturday's semifinals, the Trinity Western Spartans will face the UBC Thunderbirds, while the Toronto Varsity Blues will play against the UBC Okanagan Heat.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/2016/championship
Dalhousie
Kills: Anna Dunn-Suen (16), Mieke Dumont (13)
Points: Anna Dunn-Suenn (19)
Blocks: Jessica Josenhans (2,8)
Digs: Anna Dunn-Suen (15)
Service aces: Anna Dunn-Suen, Abby Czenze (3)
Player of the match: Anna Dunn-Suen
McGill
Kills: Catherine Amyot (19), Myriam Robitaille (16)
Points: Catherine Amyot (20.5), Myriam Robitaille (18)
Blocks: Erika Cournoyer (2,2)
Digs: Catherine Amyot (16)Service aces: Emilie Matte de Grasse (4)
Player of the match: Myriam Robitaille
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (CENTRAL TIME)
Friday, March 11
12:30 Quarter-final #1: Toronto 3, McGill 2 (18-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23, 15-13)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: UBC Okanagan 3, Dalhousie 0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-15)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Trinity Western 3, Brandon 1 (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: UBC 3, Montreal 1 (20-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-20)
Saturday, March 12
12:30 Consolation #1: Dalhousie 3, McGill 1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12)
14:30 Consolation #2: Brandon vs. Montreal (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Toronto vs. UBC Okanagan (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Trinity Western vs. UBC (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
Sunday, March 13
13:00 5th place: Dalhousie vs. Winner ConSF #2 (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Bronze medal (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Championship final (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
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