Saturday night was unique for the Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team. The team defeated the first-placed Ottawa Gee Gees 3-2 (17–25, 25–29, 25–18, 24–26, 15–11) in the team’s first five-set match of the season.
“Every match has a life of its own,” said coach Kristine Drakich. “You have to respond to what the life of the match is.”
CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARSITY
The Blues entered the game in third place, after finishing tied for first place before holiday break. The drop in standings resulted from their second loss of the season to their uptown rivals the York Lions last weekend.
The Blues did not get off to a good start. Ottawa won the first set 25–17. The Blues responded by taking the second set 25–19, showing no lingering effects from the previous weekend’s loss.
The third set featured a dynamic rally from both teams that saw the ball almost hit the basketball net hanging well above the court. The extended rally ended with an emphatic spike from rookie
Tessa Davis.
The fourth set featured stronger play from the Blues. The Blues started off with a 13–10 lead before an Ottawa timeout. After regrouping, the Gee Gees managed to tie the game at 15–15 with some strong play from their fourth-year star, Myriam English. English is in the top-five in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in kills, aces, and points. The two teams continued going back and forth until the Gee Gees came one point away from taking the set at 24–22.
The Blues played most of the same lineup throughout the game. Despite their best efforts, they fell 26–24 to Ottawa, setting up a deciding fifth set.
The Blues looked visibly dejected after the set, but with the men’s game delayed, the fifth set got underway fast enough before they could get too down on themselves. The Gee Gees had appeared to get off to a decisive 11–5 start because of a scoreboard error.
After the coaches alerted the scorekeeper, the score was corrected to 9–6. With a manageable three–point margin, the Blues chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the Gee Gees at 11 points. The Blues then reeled off four unanswered points to win the game, thanks to a strong play by veteran Charlotte Sider (leading the game with 15 kills).
After the game, Drakich said: “After losing that fourth set, we didn’t let that get to us. We got back our game, our tempo.” After making adjustments throughout the game, Drakich emphasized the balanced nature of her team. “From day to day it really depends. One of the beauties of our team is that we have a number of players who can play. I think that’s a tremendous strength of our team.”
The Blues continue next weekend with a homestand against Windsor and Western, playing for a chance to regain the first-place position in the standings.
