Women’s volleyball (12-5 OUA)

Hosted Lakehead (0-14 OUA) Thursday, February 2, 7:00 p.m. at Montpetit Hall (SSN Canada)

Gee-Gees leading players: Kelsie English 10 kills, 4 digs, Myriam English 8 kills, 3 digs, Christina Grail 29 assists

Lakehead leading players: Brittany MacLeod 6 kills, 3 aces, Michelle Cournoyer 4 kills

Needing a victory to move into sole possession of second place in the OUA, the Gee-Gees women’s volleyball team battled the Lakehead Thunderwolves on Feb. 2. In front of a full crowd at Montpetit Hall, Ottawa successfully overcame the upset-minded Thunderwolves, who were attempting to play the role of spoiler. After the 3-0 victory, the 12-5 Gee-Gees now have two more points than the third-place Queen’s Gaels.

“As the match went on, I thought we found our rhythm. I think the scores went the way they went because our players stayed focused on our job, to win the match,” said Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods. “The most respect you can give any team is to play tough all they way through, and I thought we did.”

Prior to the match, a ceremony was held to honour the Gee-Gees’ senior players Laura Carmanico (Stittsville, Ont.), Kathryn Weihrer (Ottawa, Ont.), and Claudia Seguin (St-Pascal Baylon, Ont.). While Weihrer will return for a fifth year and Carmanico has the option to do the same, tonight’s match was the final regular season home match for Seguin.

“They’re three people that really exemplify who the Gee-Gees are. The three of them just keep being an example for everybody on the team, on why we’re doing this and what we’re doing this for,” said Woods.

Carmanico had two big kills in the early goings of the first set, giving uOttawa a 7-3 lead. However, the scrappy Thunderwolves managed to capitalize on several Gee-Gees errors to take a 16-13 advantage at the technical timeout. To the delight of home crowd, the Gee-Gees played much better after the timeout, as Ottawa won the first set 25-20.

The winless Lakehead squad continued to overachieve in the second set, trailing just 12-10 midway through the frame. But once again, the Gee-Gees picked up their game when it mattered most, using a 7-0 run to pull away from their opponents. Weihrer had the final kill of the second set, which the Gee-Gees won 25-16.

“I’m definitely coming back for a fifth year. I can’t imagine my life without it. I’m just so proud and excited to be a part of this team this year,” said Weihrer. “This year has been special and I think we’re going to do something awesome at the end of the season.”

uOttawa put the final touches on a straight-sets victory in the third frame, as Lakehead was unable to keep up with the talented Gee-Gees squad. Second-year M/RS Kelsie English (Orleans, Ont.) was dominant on the blocks, while Seguin had a solid game on the defensive side of the ball. Ottawa ended up winning the final set, 25-16. The win marked the Gee-Gees’ fifth 3-0 sweep victory in their last six matches.

 The Gee-Gees will play their final game of the regular season at Toronto, on Feb. 5.