November 16th, 2002
Gee-Gees Volleyball Rally More Than Once
From Behind To Take Western 3-2 On The Road

The University of Ottawa Women’s Volleyball team is finding more ways to make volleyball exciting than head coach Lionel Woods would prefer but he’ll take the win this past weekend against Top 15 ranked Western.

After a sluggish road start in game one, loosing 25-19 at the hands of the Western Mustangs, the Gees showed some real grit to come back from a 24-19 deficit in game two and win 29-27.

Game three saw the Gees once again down late by a score of 23-18, before they scratch their way back into a 23-23 tie; only to lose 25-23 on a couple of unforced errors.

Off to game four where most teams would have been out of fight, but the Gees controlled the play for most of the set and built a 23-18 lead of their own before the Mustangs fought back themselves to 23-22. The Gees learned form their last game and kept a couple of long rallies alive before #6 Kristy Vodarek set the tone for the end of the match with a huge block against the Stangs number one hitter to make the score 24-22. Ottawa finished game four with a 25-23 score and set five was all ready to go.

Once again, the Gees displayed their flair for the dramatic by falling down by a score of 9-2 in the game before mounting a seven point comeback to tie it at 9-9. The battle was on and the Gees showed some of their pre season fire in winning 15-13 en route to the 3-2 match win over their west division rivals.

“Although no one player on our side had their best complete match tonight, as a group we somehow found a way to win this one. That is what you have to do on the road if you are going to have a chance at a championship. Win pretty, win ugly, win whatever way you can sometimes buy get the job done. This win will go a long way in the standings but it will go even further in our mind for future tough matches.” Coach Woods said of the close fought battle tonight.

Game Summary:

Scores:
Game 1: Western wins 25-19 (19 minutes)
Game 2: Ottawa wins 29-27 (31 minutes)
Game 3: Western wins 25-23 (25 minutes)
Game 4: Ottawa wins 25-23 (29 minutes)
Game 5: Ottawa wins 15-13 (18 minutes)

Statistical Highlights :
# 5 Kara Zakrzewska 21 kills - 11 Digs - 6 Blocks - 26 Points earned
# 3 Eliane Bélanger 13 Kills - 10 Blocks
# 4 Ashley Keenan 9 Kills - 11 Digs
#13 Andrea Kvasnica 16 Digs

Ottawa Record:
3 wins ~ 2 loss (league play)
11 wins ~ 12 losses (overall league & exhibition)

The Gees’ next home match is:
Saturday Nov. 23rd @ 4:00 pm against Waterloo University
&
Sunday Nov. 24th @2:00 pm vs Laurier University