parpho@rogers.com

Posted by: Miriam Bart (Sports Information Writer)

10/12/2012 10:49:00 PM
KINGSTON, Ont. - On opening day of the Coast-to-Coast Classic women's volleyball tournament, the Ottawa Gee-Gees and Queen's Gaels were successful on Friday at the Queen's ARC main gym. The Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 25-18) followed by a game taken by the Queen's Gaels against the Cape Breton Capers 3-0 (25-15, 25-12, 25-23).
The Ottawa Gee-Gees defeated the Dalhousie Tigers in a heated 4 sets. Myriam English, for Ottawa, was player of the game with 11 kills, while there were outstanding efforts by Ottawa setter Christina Grail, with 22 assists, and Karina Kruger, who had six kills and a team-high six digs. Dalhousie was led by Abby Czenze, who had ten assists, while Maggie Li had five kills and a game-high six aces.

The teams played a tight first set, before Ottawa pulled away after the technical time out. The second frame was all Ottawa, as they opened up a 12-4 lead and cruised to the victory. The Gee-Gees looked set to sweept the match, as they opened up a 21-18 lead, but the Tigers stormed back, led by a pair of Li aces, to take the set's last six points and prolong the match. The Gee-Gees effectively put the game away as they took 11 of 12 points midway through the set, erasing a 7-4 deficit and opening up a 14-8 lead.
In the later game between Queen's and Cape Breton, Queen's played strong the first two sets, but the Capers fought for the lead in the third set. Queen's Shannon Walsh was awarded player of the game for her eight digs. There were great efforts by Brett Hagarty who scored 9 points, and 14 assists by Anna Pedjase also for the Gaels.
The Coast-to-Coast Invitational Classic continues on Saturday, October 13 for the women at 1 p.m. between Dalhousie and Cape Breton followed by Queen's against Ottawa at 3 p.m. in the Queen's ARC main gym.